With Friends Like These II: Don't Stop Believing
by DarkElements10
Summary: -Sequel to BTRivalry, 2nd in WFLT trilogy- After three months on tour Big Time Rush and their friends are back in LA. Unfortunately the past that their friends thought they left behind is haunting them again when even more secrets rise to the surface.
1. Big Time Hello

**Don't Stop Believing**

**By: Riley**

**.:Chapter One – Big Time Hello:.**

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**"Come on! Wake up! Wake up! Let's go!"

Kendall Knight groaned as his sister, Katie Knight, jumped onto his back, shaking his shoulders. It wasn't the pain that caused him to groan, it was the fact that he was really tired. Just two hours ago he and his best friends James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, and Logan Mitchell, also known as Big Time Rush had arrived back at the Palm Woods after their first three month tour to promote their first album.

During the tour they had gotten a lot of recognition from fans, even going as far as getting chased down the streets when they got to new cities. Because of the fame, Gustavo Rocque, their music producer, was able to book a couple of nicer venues than just fairs and mall concerts. But because of that that meant that they had to work harder than usually. It didn't bother them at all, really, because it just showed that what they loved to do was paying off. As the tour went on, they celebrated James's 17 birthday, his being the first of the four. Carlos' being the next closest as his was August 15th, a week or so away. Now they were resting in apartment 2J, the one that they had left behind to go on tour.

At least, that was until Katie started running around, getting all of them up. Across the room, Logan let out a whining sound and rolled over on his bed, scrunched up in a ball.

"Katie, leave us alone." Kendall didn't open his eyes as he shooed his sister away, "We're jet lagged, let us sleep."

"Katie, honey," Mrs. Knight, Kendall's mother and the temporary guardian of all the boys, appeared in the bedroom doorway. "Let them sleep. They're exhausted from their tour."

"But mom," Katie sighed impatiently. "I thought they would want to know that the Jacksons are coming back today. A whole three days earlier than expected." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Excuse me for thinking that they would want to see their friends." At that, Kendall's and Logan's eyes flew open and they leapt off of their beds.

"They're coming home?" Logan questioned as his eyes widened in disbelief. "Today?"

"Katie!" Kendall pouted, looking annoyed. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Katie let out a scoff as she rolled her eyes, fishing her cell phone out of her pocket.

"I just got their text," she explained pointedly. "Which I'm sure all of you guys got. But you were too busy sleeping to look at your phones." She then nodded. "But yes, they're coming home. Like, _right now_."

"Mom!" Kendall grabbed onto his mother's shoulders and gently shook her. "Drive us to the airport! Now!" Mrs. Knight raised her eyebrows, giving her son a hard look as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I mean, please?" he grinned. "I love you."

"What's going on?" James demanded as he walked into the room, looking annoyed. "We're minding our own business trying to get some sleep and I hear is yelling." He glared at his friends. "And do you know what lack of sleep does?"

"Makes you a whining baby?" Logan asked.

"No!" James snapped. "It makes me cranky, and when I get cranky I get wrinkles in my forehead! AND I DON'T NEED WRINKLES IN MY FOREHEAD!"

"Check your cell phone, dude." Kendall replied.

James reached a hand into his pocket, still glaring at his friends, and pulled out his cell phone. He quickly flipped it open to see the text message that he had and then flipped the phone shut again, shoving it back in his pocket. He turned around and walked back to his bedroom and it was only a matter of seconds before they heard the sounds of James yelling at Carlos to wake up, the sound of a pillow hitting something, and the sounds of Carlos' screams. A few seconds later, James came back out of the room, dragging Carlos behind him.

"We're ready to go!" he declared with a wide smile, causing Katie, Kendall, and Logan to burst out laughing.

"Alright," Mrs. Knight sighed heavily, not having as much sleep as the boys, but knowing how anxious they were to see their friends. "Let me just get my keys."

The Jacksons are a family band that consists of five kids, three boys and two girls, Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney Jackson, their band name being the DarkElements. Big Time Rush met them after their managers Gustavo and the Jacksons' adoptive father, Robert, said that the two bands couldn't be friends and that they were going to be Rivals. Big Time Rush and the DarkElements didn't want that, but their managers did, Robert even went as far as to steal the song _Big Time Rush_ and pass it off as the DarkElements' song. Once Big Time Rush found out they were mad at the DarkElements until they helped Big Time Rush get proof that they didn't know that it was stolen and that it was their dad's idea. After that, the two bands became friends and Riley, Rhuben, and Logan remembered that they used to know each other when they were much younger and became best friends again. At this time the Jacksons were being abused by Robert and Big Time Rush helped them get rid of him. After that, their friendship grew as they worked on music, hung out at the Palm Woods, and got to know each other. The DarkElements had also gone on a 3 month tour, but they went on the tour back in their hometown of Sydney, Australia. Now they were back and the guys were rushing to meet them once their plane landed.

"Can't this car move any faster?" Katie demanded from the front seat as her brother and his friends were all squished into the back.

"Not unless you want me to go over the speed limit and get a ticket," Mrs. Knight replied as she kept her eyes on the road and her foot on the gas pedal. There were going at a fast enough speed of 65 miles per hour, but it was obvious that she wasn't going fast enough for them.

"Who cares if you get a ticket?" Katie continued her rant. "It's only a piece of paper, and you only live once. And your life will be incredibly boring if you don't take a risk." Mrs. Knight snorted as she looked over at her daughter.

"Do you want to drive?" she questioned, causing Katie to immediately perk up.

"Can I?" she asked eagerly.

"Katie, I have a better chance of driving than you do." Kendall replied as he rolled his eyes. "And we all know what happened the last time I tried driving."

"Yeah, we still have the dent in the garage to prove it." Katie replied, sticking her tongue out.

Kendall smiled a bit at the memory; it was actually his friends' idea for him to drive. Well, everybody except Logan. Kendall had mentioned that his mom was gone at the diner to work and Katie was over a friend's house and the car was just sitting in the garage. Already knowing what his friends had in mind, Logan started trying to guilt Kendall into thinking about what would happen if he got caught driving without a permit or a license. James and Carlos on the other hand had gathered around their friend chanting 'do it' over and over again until he agreed. That ended up with Kendall behind the steering wheel, Logan in the passenger seat, and James and Carlos bouncing around like idiots in the back.

Long story short, Logan's constant shrieking of fear caused Kendall to forget whether the car was in Drive or Reverse and he floored it into the garage. His mother definitely wasn't happy about that one, and Katie was able to do almost anything she wanted after that.

"I told you that you should have waited for your mom to get home," Logan said from where he was squished in between James and Carlos. "But did anyone listen to me? No!"

"Sorry, did you say something?" Carlos questioned as he looked over at his friend.

"I need to get new friends," Logan muttered to himself as he rubbed his forehead, trying to ward away yet another headache.

It was another ten minutes before they were able to get to the airport, park the car, and get inside the terminal. Katie checked her text message again, to find out what gate they were coming in from and then they decided to wait. They didn't have to wait long as the flight was announced over the intercom and people started to spill out into the terminal.

Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan, and Katie looked around impatiently for the Jacksons and Katie almost didn't see them until they were right in front of her.

Patrick and Noah had grown a little bit taller so they now stood two inches taller than their sisters. Patrick's hair still had the blonde streaks in it, but he didn't have it put up in a Mohawk, and he was wearing glasses. Noah's hair and grown a little bit longer, almost to shoulder length. Sydney had gotten a little taller and had his hair cut so it was still messy, just not as long. Riley and Rhuben though had cut their long hair so now it rested at their shoulder blades and it had more red and purple streaks in it. And all of them had gotten slightly tanned while they were gone.

Rhuben was the first one to notice their friends staring at them. She gave a huge grin, dropped her bag to the ground and ran into Logan's arms.

"Logie!" she cried giving him a tight hug as the others crowded around. "It's so good to see you! How are you? How was your tour?"

Logan tried to reply to her many questions but he was unable to respond as he was tongue tied. He had to admit to himself that he hadn't ever seen his friend more attractive before. The shorter hair really helped bring out the frame to her face, her eyes seemed to be shining brighter (most likely due to her excitement of seeing them again) and she was wearing makeup, when she usually wouldn't touch the stuff. It was just a bit of eyeliner, eye shadow, and lip-gloss on.

To put it simply, Logan thought she looked beautiful.

"Logie, hello?" she waved a hand in front of his face and Logan shook his head before grinning and giving her a hug back.

"Sorry, Bella. Spaced out there for a second," he apologized. "It's good to see you!"

"You can't forget me," Riley gently nudged her sister out of the way before giving Logan a hug too. He didn't miss the smug smile on her face and decided not to question her about it. He knew from past experience that whenever he asked about that smile he usually was asked something extremely embarrassing and brought into some scheme that would eventually backfire. "How are you?"

"I'm doing great, Landy." He replied with a smile before going to hug and greet her brothers. In the back of his mind he felt as if something was off with them but didn't say anything.

"Ok, let me see," James grabbed onto Riley's arm and held her still as he looked over her hair. "Hmm, lots of volume, shape is nice and great body."

"Uh, we're still talking about my hair right?" Riley asked as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and amused look on her face.

"That too," James winked in reply before giving her a big hug. "You look great, really, you do."

"Thanks, so do you." Riley replied and lightly grabbed onto his arm. "Working out a bit more, huh?" she asked and then laughed when James nodded. "Maybe you could take Noah with you; he looks kind of wimpy and could use the bulking up."

"Thanks Riley," Noah muttered sarcastically, blushing a little bit as his voice cracked. "I love you too."

Kendall watched the exchange between James and Riley with an odd expression on his face. He didn't really understand why he was staring, but he couldn't help it. Just seeing her flirt with James like that, even if she didn't mean it at all, sort of annoyed him. Finally, he stopped staring and moved forward to give her a hug.

"Hey Hockey-Head," she greeted with a smirk as she gave him a hug. He held her for a second longer than necessary before taking a step back. "How was your tour?"

"It was awesome." Kendall replied as he stuck his hands into his pockets, not sure what to do with them and suddenly feeling very self-conscious. "We wish you guys were there, but you had your own tour to deal with."

"That wasn't all," Sydney murmured from beside him. Kendall looked over at him and Riley shot her brother a look when Kendall wasn't looking. Sydney gave one back before smiling widely, his dimples appearing in his cheeks. "Patrick and Noah turned 14 during the tour. So we celebrated their birthday at a really fancy restaurant."

"Did you get kicked out of that one too?" Carlos asked with a laugh.

"If you guys were there we definitely would have," Patrick replied and frowned when his voice cracked. "Man, that's getting on my nerves." Logan noticed that his, like his brothers and sisters voices, held their really thick accent. It was sort of hard to understand them at some points of their conversation. Patrick looked around and then waved at Mrs. Knight. "Hi Mama Knight, how are you?"

"I'm doing as well as any mother could after having some time by herself this summer," Mrs. Knight smiled affectionately in reply. "Trust me, I needed it."

"I wish I could say the same," Ronan McGuire, the Jacksons' music producer, chuckled as he walked over, tucking his passport into the inside pocket of his sports jacket. He reached out a hand and grabbed Mrs. Knight's hand, squeezing it gently. "But if you have a job like mine you're always busy." He smiled warmly. "It's nice to see you again Kacy."

"It's nice to see you too, Ronan." Mrs. Knight smiled in reply.

"So," Ronan pulled his hand away and rubbed them together. "I guess we should get going to the house."

"House?" Katie repeated as she raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, I guess we didn't tell you guys," Patrick pushed his glasses up his nose as he adjusted the bag that was around his shoulders. "Ronan bought a house, a mansion actually. So instead of staying at the Palm Woods, we're going to be living there."

"Sweet!" Katie's eyes lit up. "Can we come over and see it?"

"It would be better if we got some of our stuff moved in," Noah replied, his voice still as soft as ever. "But as soon as that's done all of you guys can come over and we'll have a party." He smiled warmly, his eyes locked on Katie. "Promise."

"Yeah, we kind of need to get going," Sydney added with a loud yawn, pulling his hood up over his head, so a shadow was cast across his face. He smiled. "That's the price you pay when you come back from Australia, you lost a day and you need to sleep it off."

"We'll call you later, though, Logie." Riley replied as if it was an afterthought.

"Sure," Logan replied with a nod.

"Later." Sydney gave the peace sign before they all walked off with Ronan, heads slightly bent towards the ground.

"Is it just me," Kendall started as soon as he was sure that they were out of ear shot. "Or did they seem kind of…odd to you?"

"It's not just you," Carlos replied as he shook his head. "I had the same feeling. James, Kendall, Katie, and Carlos all looked towards Logan as if he knew what was wrong. Logan just shrugged in reply.

"I have absolutely no idea what it is." He replied.

"But you've been Skyping and calling Riley and Rhuben all summer," James pointed out. "Are you sure?"

"It may not be that anything is wrong," Mrs. Knight cut in, not wanting to worry her son, daughter, or their friends. She had noticed it too, but didn't want them to think that anything was wrong. "It's like they said, they just flew in from a country that has a 17 hour time difference, they're bound to be exhausted and not really up for anything."

"Mom's right." Kendall agreed. "So, let's just go see em' tomorrow. I mean, knowing them they're bound to be at the studio, right?" he turned to his mom and lightly patted her on the arm. "To the Palm Woods, mom." Lightly teasing her as she was going to be their chauffer for a while or at least until Logan got his license, whichever came first.

Back across the terminal the Jacksons were waiting to get their bags, staring at the baggage claim, yawning every now at then. Ronan watched them not sure what to do, but he knew that he had to say something.

"Hey guys," he called gently to get their attention. "I know I'm not your dad, but I think it would be better to tell them what's going on now, rather than later when they find out from the news or something."

"It can wait." Riley muttered before turning to her siblings, a warning look in her eye. "They don't need to know yet."

They all nodded silently in reply.

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**A/N: And here's the first chapter to the sequel. You already see bits of Kiley, Lella, and PatrickxKatiexNoah. And for Mrs. Knight's name, I noticed that Kendall and Katie both had names that started with a 'k' so I gave her one too. Personally I think it sounds a bit too much like Katie and I may change it later, but it's her name for now.**

**Ok, so you guys know, unlike the last story that was mainly humorous, this story has a lot of angst in it. I hope you guys enjoyed it the next chapter will be up soon. Is there anything that you would like to see in this story? Let me know.**

**-Riley**


	2. Big Time Secrets

**.:Chapter Two – Big Time Secrets:.**

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**"You want to know one thing I didn't miss about being on tour?" Carlos whispered to Kendall as quietly as possible. In response, Kendall leaned over to the side so he was closer to hear what Carlos was saying. "Being back in school."

Kendall nodded in reply and went back to doodling in his notebook before looking around the room. It was the first day back at school at the Palm Woods and he was already bored. Katie was sitting in the front with Tyler, paying attention to whatever Miss. Collins was saying. He knew that if Katie got bad grades during the school year, their mother would take away some of her privileges of living in the Palm Woods. Carlos was doing what he always did to pass the time, balance a pencil on his nose. James was doing what he was always doing, sketching different styles of clothes that he would make when he got his own clothing line. Logan, as usual, was being such a teacher's pet, answering every question correctly and taking down every single note. Jo Tarver, Stephanie King, and Camille Sanders were sitting in front of the boys, passing notes back and forth. Probably talking about a lot of girl stuff that he could care less about.

He couldn't concentrate at all, as last night he had gone back and listened to the Jacksons CD, which all o them had bought as soon as it had come out. It still made him depressed to listen to the songs that they had written about their abuse and how they were living with it. But he knew that they were happier now, as they didn't have to worry about their father anymore, he was in jail and there was no way that he could be able to get to them.

"So, what are you guys up to today?" Stephanie asked as she, Jo, and Camille joined the boys as they left the classroom when school was over.

"I don't know, I think Gustavo has us working on harmonies today," Logan replied as he lifted his backpack onto his shoulders. He cried out as the weight of the bag caused him to spin around and fall to the ground. "I meant to do that." He stated as he got back to his feet. "Why is my bag so heavy?" he opened it and lifted his head, glaring at Carlos when he saw all the books in it. "Carlos! How many times do I have to tell you that I won't do your homework?"

"Please?" Carlos pleaded as he widened his eyes and made a pout. He paused when he noticed Stephanie holding a camera up to her eye. "What are you doing?"

"I figured eventually all of the stupid stuff that you guys do will need to be caught on tape." Stephanie replied with a smile as she lowered the camera from her eye.

"Yeah, what do you have planned this school year?" Jo asked as she raised an eyebrow as she moved out of the way of some kids that ran past. "Starting a food fight? Getting us a field trip to the beach? Get us to write papers on our favorite memories?"

"You make it sound like it's a bad idea." James commented, sounding offended.

"That's because your favorite memory is when you realized you had great hair." Kendall replied sarcastically.

"Is something bothering you, Kendall?" Camille asked as she turned to the leader of the boy-band. When Kendall shook his head, Camille continued. "It's just, as an actor you have to be very observant of how people are feeling when it comes to their emotions, just in case you need to copy. And I can see that you're very distracted."

"I was just thinking that I might have to watch Katie today," Kendall replied smoothly. "I think that my mom is going out to look for a job again."

"Tell her good luck." Jo replied kindly.

"I will."

"So, we haven't established what we're going to do today." Stephanie said as she put her camera away. "I was thinking we-"she, Jo, and Big Time Rush jumped when Camille shrieked loudly. "Give each other heart attacks." She added with a sigh before turning to see what Camille was shrieking about. When she saw what it was, she shrieked too, causing Jo to shriek, causing the guys to clamp their hands over their ears.

"Are girls always this loud?" Carlos asked James.

"Remember all of those girls shouting when we were at our concerts?" James asked in reply and Carlos smiled and nodded. "The three of them are much worse than that."

"I can't believe you're back!" Camille cried as she, Jo, and Stephanie ran over and hugged Riley and Rhuben tightly. "I thought you weren't coming back until the end of the week." She added and stepped away.

"We were supposed to, but Sydney begged Ronan to take us back early." Rhuben replied with a half smile and a slight yawn. "Sorry, I'm still a little jet lagged."

"When did you get back?" Jo asked as she brushed her hair behind her ears. "And why didn't you tell us?"

"I did," Riley looked confused. "Did you not get my text? I sent it yesterday about a half hour before our plane landed." She raised her eyebrows when Jo and Stephanie turned to Camille with pointed looks on their faces. She laughed nervously in reply. "Ok, what did she do?"

"For a part in a movie she was supposed to be a magician," Stephanie explained. "And she decided to try and make our phones disappear." Jo tilted her head to the side as she jumped in to explain.

"Resulting in the demolition derby on our cell phones." She replied and then thought of something. "This means that we can go and buy more. How about you come with, we can make it a girls night. You know, get away from stupidity every once in a while."

"Sounds cool." Rhuben agreed as she brushed her shoulder length hair behind her ears. "Let us know when and we'll tell Ronan ahead of time."

"Where are you headed now?" Riley asked. Jo replied saying that she had to go work on some of her songs, Stephanie had to work on some screen writing, and Camille had an audition to go to. "Ok, we'll see you guys later." She gave a wave before she and Rhuben walked over to Big Time Rush. "Why didn't you say hi?"

"We wanted to stay away from the shrieking estrogen for a moment." Logan replied and Rhuben punched him on the arm. "Ow! That hurts you know!"

"I'm aware." She replied simply.

"Is something wrong?" Logan asked as he peered at her face. She ignored him and focused on what James was saying.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" James asked as he raised his eyebrows. "I figured that you would still be asleep."

"Our brothers are still snoring up a storm," Riley replied as she shoved her hands into her Capri pockets. "But Ronan wanted us to check with Bitters to see if we had left anything in the apartment because we didn't really get a chance to check before we left." She paused. "What are you guys doing today?"

"Harmonies, dancing, being tortured by Gustavo," Carlos replied as he counted off of his fingers. "You know same ol', same ol'."

"Cool. We're going to be unpacking all day so we're not going to be in the studio until much later." Rhuben explained. "Just in case you're bored and looking for us." She turned to Logan and grabbed his hand, pulling a pen out of her pocket. "Call us later, but I got a new number because fans somehow found out my old one and had been calling me all day." She scribbled her new number on Logan's palm and then closed his hand. "Later."

"I still say something's off," Kendall muttered as he watched the two of them walk over to Bitters' desk. "See, they're not even taunting Bitters or anything." He added when he saw them have a short conversation with Bitters and walk off with an apartment key.

"Relax, Kendall, they're still tired." Logan chided, although he was thinking the same thing. "You would be too if you lost a day of your life." He looked at the ceiling in thought. "Well, actually two days because they went there and back. And the whole time difference thing changes depending on when-"

"Logie, knock it off with the science mumbo jumbo." James warned in annoyance as he never understood anything that Logan had to say when it came to science or math. "Besides, we have to get to Rocque Records." He added as he started to walk away.

"Uh, since when do you want to get screamed at by Gustavo for practically everything that you do wrong?" Carlos asked as they started their walk to Rocque Records.

"Since we had our first tour and the sound of girls screaming my name was easily able to push Gustavo's screaming right out of my mind." James replied, causing the four boys to laugh and joke with each other the rest of the way.

"Hey guys," Kelly Wainright, Gustavo's assistant, greeted cheerfully when the boys arrived at Rocque Records. "Gustavo is waiting for you in the recording studio to work on the song One in a Million." She turned on her heel and led the boys towards the recording studio. "I have to admit, Gustavo was really pleased with how well you guys did during the tour."

"How pleased is pleased?" Logan asked warily. "Because last time he was so happy that he grabbed us in a group hug and almost cracked all of our bones."

"Don't worry he's not going to do that," Kelly laughed in reply. "_But_ he _is_ looking for some other musicians for you to work with; you know when you worked with Jordan Sparks and Boys Like Girls? Yeah, you're going to be working with some other new bands."

"Oh really?" Kendall looked interested. "Like who?"

"He's going to have to be one to tell you that" Kelly replied with an air of mystery. "Just come on."

* * *

"It's still weird that we're living here instead of back at the Palm Woods," Rhuben commented as she turned the steering wheel of her car to pull into the driveway of their new house. It was actually a mansion, but the Jacksons didn't like to call it a mansion because they knew that if they would they wouldn't be acting down-to-earth like they usually were. Of course they were excited and bouncing off the walls when they first got there, but the novelty wore off fast when they realized that in the next few weeks they were going to have to speak in front of a judge.

"I get what you mean," Riley commented from the passenger seat, waiting for her sister to shut off the car. "But hey, it's better than being in a normal house; it would be too small from how much we're always running around." She opened the door and climbed out, holding onto a large box.

"Good point," Rhuben replied as she pressed the LOCK button on her car-chain and they walked over to the front door and entered the house. "We're back, Ronan!"

"I was wondering where you guys got off to," Ronan commented as he walked out of the room to their left, rolling up his sleeves. He noticed the box in Riley's hand and went to take it. "The adoption agency called."

"Oh, what did they say?" Riley asked as she dumped the box into Ronan's arms and kicked off her shoes. A couple of seconds later, her St. Bernard, Rugby, ran over and started to lick her legs. When they came back from Australia, the Jacksons were able to bring their pets along. Riley's dog, Rhuben's cat, Patrick and Noah's dogs, and Sydney rabbit. "Hey Rugby." She greeted, running her fingers through is fur. She stood up and looked at Ronan again. "Did they say how long until you can officially adopt us?"

"No, they said that you guys have to finish the trial first," Ronan replied as he set the box down and leaned against the large door less door frame of the room behind him. "Speaking of which, you've done a lot of PSAs for Child Abuse and you've publicly announced back in Australia that you were abused for a long time. Why don't you want to tell your friends that you're going to be called as witnesses in the trial against your father in the next few weeks?"

"So we don't worry them." Rhuben replied simply. "You know how they get, every time we become quiet, just thinking; they think that they've upset us or something."

"That's only because they're worried about you," Ronan pointed out with a heavy sigh. "And I worry too, it's not a good idea to keep all of this bottled up."

"We're not keeping it bottled up," Riley insisted and then hesitated. "We're just…" she paused, trying to think of the words for it. "We're just not telling them right away."

"And when do you plan on telling them?" Ronan snorted. "Let me guess whenever they catch you before you're leaving to go to the court house."

"No one ever said that there was anything wrong with it." Riley denied firmly.

Ronan let out a heavy breath, trying not to get frustrated. He rubbed his eyes, muttering to himself that what he was doing was the right thing and that everybody deserved to know what was going on. But the responsibility solely fell on Riley, Rhuben, and their brothers.

"Ok, but what about Logan?" Ronan asked as he eyed the two girls. "He's going to be really upset if he doesn't find out what's going on from you."

"No, we're going to tell Logan," Rhuben replied as she ran her fingers through her hair. "But we're going to make him promise that he can't tell anyone else." She placed her hands on her hips when Ronan sighed again. "You can tell us 'I Told You So' when this plan backfires in our face." She smirked. "_If_ it does." She added.

"_When_ it does," Ronan corrected. "I'll be right there to say it." He flicked the two of them on the nose and rubbed his hands together. "So, let's go find our brothers and tests out that pool."

"Where are they?" Riley asked as she looked around.

"That's the reason why I said let's go find them," Ronan replied as he slid his hands into his pockets. "I don't know, they just disappeared as soon as they woke up. But they're around here somewhere."

"Patrick your dill!" Riley shouted loudly. "You better come out now because when I find you I'm _not_ going to be a happy person!" she looked up when she noticed Rhuben and Ronan staring at her. "What?" she shrugged. "Threatening him usually works."

"I'll take your word for it." Ronan replied. "I'll check the basement, you two check everywhere else."

"Got it." The twin girls replied and turned away. Ronan smiled as he watched them leave, but then called Riley back when he noticed a bandage around her wrist. "What happened?" he asked when he got her attention.

"Oh," she blushed a little bit. "I made a blue and tried to get a toy away from Rugby before rubbing his stomach." She rolled her eyes. "And he scratched my wrist."

"Ok," Ronan nodded in reply before letting her go again. She turned and went charging upstairs to look for her brothers. Ronan went down to the basement that was furnished with pool tables, foosball tables, bubble chairs, and TVs. He didn't find them down there, or in the kitchen, so he went back upstairs to help Riley and Rhuben search.

But then he realized that it was quiet.

Too quiet.

He couldn't hear Riley and Rhuben calling for their brothers anymore. So that meant that they were up to something. "Ok, where are you guys?" Ronan called as he rolled his eyes. "I know that you're going to jump out and try to scare me." He continued walking down the hallway, looking into empty bedrooms and bathrooms as he went. "Come on guys, this is ridiculous, you're not going to scare me."

"Oh, but we _are_ going to get you."

Ronan turned around and saw all five of his kids standing in front of him wearing Indian make-up. Somehow in the few minutes that he was gone, they had all managed to smear red paint on their cheeks and forehead, put on Indian headdresses and grab a bunch of pillows. They all stood behind him, pillows over their heads and smiling evilly.

"Don't you dare." Ronan warned as he raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know us that well do ya?" Patrick asked with an evil grin as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Apparently not." Ronan replied.

"Are you prepared to say your last words?" Sydney asked as they all took a few steps forward.

"Yes," Ronan replied as he held his arms out. "Do you all act like little babies? I mean, dressing up in Indian costumes?"

"Wow, weird last words." Rhuben replied before letting out an Indian yell and charging down the hallway, pillow raised over her head. Her brothers and sister followed suit and they all jumped on top of Ronan, hitting him with pillows. Sydney shrieked with laughter as Ronan lifted him over his shoulder and tickled his stomach.

"Darn, he's got a prisoner." Noah stated as he put his pillow down.

"Meh," Patrick shrugged. "I saw let him keep him."

"Hey!" Sydney whined in offense.

"I'll give you back my prisoner if you do something for me." Ronan replied seriously and continued when they all nodded in reply. "Tell your friends about the trial. And soon."

"Fine," Rhuben replied after a second of thought. Patrick and Noah nodded in agreement and they all turned to Riley, who let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine."

"Good," Ronan placed Sydney on the ground and grinned. "Race ya to the pool." He said and quickly darted towards the stairs, getting down them before the Jacksons could, laughing loudly as they chased after him.**  
**

* * *

**A/N: Somewhat of a filler chapter, everything is back to its normal, chaotic self. I just wanted to show what was going on with the Jacksons so you knew but no one else does. I hope you liked it though. ^-^ Also, don't forget to check out my sister's new story _Big Time Rush of Adrenaline_.  
**

**-Riley**


	3. Big Time House Party Pt1: Getting Ready

.:**Chapter Three – Big Time House Party Part 1:.**

**

* * *

**The next day after school at the Palm Woods, Jo, Stephanie, and Camille had met Riley and Rhuben at the mall. Ronan had only let the two of them go as long as they promised to help finish unpacking the moment that they got home, but he also agreed that they needed time away from their brothers every now and then. But they were going to have to go back into the recording studio soon. The five girls went into the mall and immediately headed to AT&T to get new phones.

"So, what phone are you guys getting?" Jo asked as she looked over a Samsung Strive. "I was thinking about switching over to the iPhone." She looked torn as she held up the two phones and turned back to her friends. "Which do you think is better?"

"The iPhone," Riley commented from where she was browsing on her own iPhone. She looked up and stuck it back in her pocket. "But then again, if you want the iPhone 4 you better make sure that you don't care about all of the bugs that they were complaining about."

"I thought you had Verizon." Rhuben added as she leaned against the counter, standing next to Jo.

"I do, but I'm thinking of switching over," she replied as she hitched her bag up her shoulder. "But I can't really decide."

"Which phone has the better text service?" Camille asked as she, Stephanie, and Riley walked over to the two girls. Jo looked at the tag that was with the Samsung Strive and then looked at the ceiling in thought.

"AT&T has unlimited text messaging, so I'm going with that." Jo replied and went over to the counter to exchange her phone and change her plan.

"So explain to me again how you managed to destroy all of your phones." Riley stated as she looked over at Camille, a sly expression on her face. Camille just smiled innocently in reply, which Rhuben caught on camera. Riley turned her head towards her sister. "You're getting a bit camera-happy there."

"That's what happens when you're a photographer," Rhuben replied as she stuck her tongue out at her twin, who mimicked her. Rhuben shook her head. "Jeez, we photographers don't get any compassion."

"I can sympathize." Stephanie agreed with a grin. Jo came back from the counter, holding onto a small bag with her new phone in it. "So where are we headed next?" she asked as the girls walked out of the phone store and started to aimlessly walk around the mall.

"I vote for food," Camille replied. "That way we won't have to get caught up with growling stomachs when we're trying on some clothes."

"Food it is." Jo agreed with a nod and they headed towards the food court. They all got their food and sat down to eat in a matter of minutes. Camille couldn't help but smile as she looked at all of her friends.

When she had first gotten to the Palm Woods there wasn't really anyone to hang out with besides the Jennifers and she would have rather chewed off her own arm before she became friends with them. That's why she started to focus more and more on her acting, to get over the feeling that she knew was loneliness.

Then Riley and Rhuben moved to the area. She had known of them, but didn't really get to know them until they had gotten into that big mess with Gustavo with having their son being stolen. But as she got to know them, she realized that they weren't that different from her. They didn't really have a lot of friends s their abusive father wouldn't let them hang out with a lot of people. But they had good passion when it came to the arts and acting. They liked to act, although being in a band was their number one job. And they also weren't the kind of girls that always liked to worry about their appearance or what they were wearing. And even though their abuse was a really horrible thing that they had to go through, it also had them grow up faster, which gave them a sense of knowing the world better, which was interesting in Camille's view.

She met Jo next, and the two hit it off quickly, especially after all of the boys of Big Time Rush were fighting over her. The two and Riley and Rhuben had laughed about it for a long time when they were in Jo's apartment. Especially when she told the boys that she had a boyfriend when she didn't, just so she could focus on her singing career. It was fun when the four of them hung out because they could talk about anything, acting, singing, guys, clothes, and anything they could think of. She easily added to the group of girls and to the group of friends with Big Time Rush with her sense of humor and wanting to have fun.

And then there came Stephanie, the Palm Woods ghost. She had made her way into the group just by being the Palm Woods ghost and scaring the guys out of their minds. Riley and Rhuben immediately liked her because she had pulled a prank and those two are master pranksters. Jo and Camille immediately liked her because she was talented when it came to her filming and she was another girl and there weren't many girls at the Palm Woods or in LA that weren't snobbish or obsessed with becoming famous, instead of having fun.

"You're not eating much?" she asked when she noticed Rhuben's plate held a small hamburger and small fries. "Usually you'd be eating up a storm." She remarked with a smile. "I know how much you love McDonalds."

"I'm not that hungry," Rhuben replied as she popped a fry into her mouth. "I mean, Riley made a big breakfast this morning and we couldn't stop eating."

"Yeah, enough so that Ronan barely got any." Riley replied dryly as she squirted mustard onto her hamburger and fries. She looked up when Camille, Stephanie, and Jo stared at her plate with mild looks of disgust. "Yes, I know, I eat Maccas really weirdly. So sue me."

"Maccas?" Jo repeated as she raised an eyebrow.

"McDonalds." Riley explained quickly.

"So, speaking of Australia, how's your CD doing?" Stephanie asked as she took a sip of her drink. "I saw some of your videos on your website by the way." She grinned. "It was really funny, especially that mock-horror film that you did in the hotel."

"We aren't going to know how well our CD does until the end of the week," Rhuben replied as she looked at the ceiling in thought. "Blazing Phoenix said that they'll call as soon as they find out." Blazing Phoenix Records was the record company that they were signed to back home in Australia and it was the only one that they were ever signed to and the Jacksons and Ronan couldn't see working anywhere else as their music has done really well at that recording studio.

"We don't really mind what we get in sales though," Riley added. "We just want to get nominated for an ARIA music award before we turn twenty though." She gave a half-smile and continued to explain. "The ARIA music awards would be like the…VMA's for you Yanks."

"You really missed Australia didn't you?" Jo asked sympathetically. "I can tell from the way that you guys are really using your accent.

"Its home," Rhuben shrugged in reply. "But we always have to leave home every now and then. And LA is our second home with you guys."

"And Logan." Stephanie added with a sly smile.

"Yeah, that's an added bonus" Rhuben replied slowly as if she wasn't sure what her friend was getting at. Stephanie, Jo, and Camille looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "What?" she threw her arms up into the air. "Don't tell me you're like Riley and are convinced that we like each other."

"Because you do," Riley interjected before making a sound of protest as Rhuben grabbed some of her fries. "Eat your own!" she snapped.

"I told you before," Rhuben sighed as she held her hands up defensively. "We're just friends." She insisted, sounding as if she had heard it before.

"Someone who is 'just a friend' doesn't always greet you with 'Hey Bells, how are you doing today? How was your weekend" Jo replied as she used quotes around the words that Logan would say. She shook her head, sending her blonde tresses flying. "No, that's what a guy does when he likes you. When he doesn't like you he just goes 'Hey. What's up?'?" She lowered her voice to sound like a guy.

"So? He does that to Riley too," Rhuben protested as she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but he doesn't look at me the same way he looks at you." Riley replied as she leaned back in her chair. Rhuben rolled her eyes before a sly smile slid onto her face and she turned to face her sister. "What?" she asked suspiciously.

"What about you and Kendall?" she asked.

"What _about_ me and Kendall?" Riley replied, looking genuinely confused. This time it was Rhuben's turn to roll her eyes along with Jo, Camille, and Stephanie.

"It's only obvious that you like him," Camille replied as she slowly shook her head. "Even if you don't see it yourself. I mean, why do you always call him 'Hockey-Head' all the time? It can't be because you think his head is shaped like a hockey puck."

"Right, girls only give guys nicknames if they want to be close to them." Stephanie added with a grin.

"Oh yeah," Riley turned the tables around. "What about you and Carlos?" she demanded. "I know that when we left for Minnesota he said that you two were supposed to go on a date, did you ever go?"

"Not yet," Stephanie replied with a sigh. "I don't know think he realizes that he hasn't actually asked me on a date, but just suggested it. And I don't want to be the one to ask if it actually was a date you know?"

"Why do guys have to be so stupid?" Jo asked as she placed her chin in her hand. "I mean, how hard is it to figure out what we really want? They're so confusing."

"I get what you mean." Camille agreed, causing the other girls to nod in agreement. "Are you guys done? Because we need to go shopping."

"Shopping for what exactly?" Riley asked as she raised an eyebrow. "I thought that we were just looking around.

"Dresses," Jo replied and then started to bat her eyelashes in an endearing way. "We were…_hoping_ that with you in your new house and what with the unpacking being almost done that-"

"That we would have a party?" Rhuben guessed and Jo nodded, showing that she was right. "Why not?" she shrugged. "I mean, you're supposed to have a house warming party right? And we haven't hung around our friends in a while."

"Let me just ask to see if the unpacking is done." Riley replied as she pulled her iPhone out of her pocket. She jabbed at the screen a few times before putting it up to her ear, to make sure it was ringing, before pressing speakerphone and holding it out.

"_Hello?"_ a voice asked quietly.

"Hey stupid, turn the phone around." Riley replied and rolled her eyes as Rhuben laughed a little bit.

"Good afternoon to you two, Ri." Patrick replied and Riley could practically see him rolling his eyes._ "We finished unpacking your stuff by the way. You owe us big time."_

"That's what I called about actually. We're with Jo, Camille, and Steph and they wanted to know if we could have a house warming party." Riley twisted her hair around her finger. "I don't think that Ronan would mind, but I think that it would be good to ask him first."

"_We had the same idea,"_ Patrick replied, sounding pleased. _"And he already said yes. Are you going to be buying new dresses?"_

"Yeah, do you want the usual?"

"_That'd be great, thanks."_

"Alright, Hoo-Roo."

"_Back atcha."_

Riley hung up her phone and couldn't help but smile along with her twin and the other girls. "What's the 'usual'?" Camille questioned as she finished her fries and wiped her fingers off on a napkin.

"A tie for Patrick, a hat for Noah, and whatever we can find in blue that Sydney would like." Rhuben replied with a wave of her hand. "So, I'm thinking that we try the stores on this side of the mall and then head towards the others." Riley, Jo, and Camille quickly agreed and gathered their stuff. They quickly got up from their table, threw away their stuff, and ran over to the nearest store, Lucky 7.

They started to look through some formal dresses when Rhuben's cell phone rang. She took it out of her pocket, looked at the caller ID and then jabbed a button, stopping the ring in mid note, shoving it back into her pocket.

"Who was that?" Camille asked curiously.

"Nobody." Rhuben replied stiffly, keeping her gaze lowered.

* * *

"Hey guys," Patrick called as he kicked open the door of the Palm Woods. Kendall, Carlos, and James, who were sitting around the table, looking at a hand of cards, cried out in shock as they threw their cards around. "Sorry."

"What are you guys doing here?" James asked as he gave a wave to the three Jackson brothers. "I thought that you had the day off."

"We do," Noah replied quietly. "But we came by to get your guys' help." He smiled faintly. "We're having a house warming party and we wanted to know-"

"Of _course _we'll come!" James interrupted before Noah could finish. "I mean, having a party where we could potentially meet all of your famous friends. Who wouldn't want to go to that?"

"He said a _house warming_ party," Sydney interrupted as he raised an eyebrow. "Not a gala. But we're going to need your guys' help to set up as Ri-Ri and Rhu-Rhu aren't home yet." He paused and looked around. "Where are Katie and Mama Knight?"

"They went to the store." Kendall replied as he started to gather up the cards. Hey, when there are a lot of guys around, you're going to run out of food fast. It was a good thing that the boys were getting a lot of money from their record sales and concerts of they wouldn't be able to feed themselves for a while. "Should be back soon."

"Leave em' a note to come by later and come on," Patrick insisted eagerly. "We have a lot of work to do." He paused as he pushed his glasses up his nose and rubbed his chin. "Then again, you may want to bring your clothes with you. It's going to take a while to set up and you probably won't have time to come back here, change, and then go back to our house."

"Don't worry about a thing." James declared as he leapt to his feet. "I'll pick out everything!" he cried and dashed into his and Carlos' bedroom.

"We don't have two days!" Logan cried and rubbed his face warily. "Did you _have_ to mention that?" he made a face. "Now he's going to take forever in our closets."

"Don't worry," Carlos jumped to his feet and slapped his helmet twice. "I'll get him." He let out an Indian yell and dove into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. The Jackson boys, Kendall, and Logan stared, eyes wide with shock as there was scrambling sounds, James' screaming, and Carlos' hysterical laughter. Then the door opened and Carlos walked out with a grin on his face and wiping his hands against each other. "He'll be out in a minute." He replied smugly.

"Ok then," Kendall replied and turned to the Jackson boys. "What can we help with?"

"Well, since Riles and Rhu are gone we're going to need help setting out food and decorating and putting some rooms off limits," Sydney replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. "So that means pretty much everything."

"Well, we're glad to help." Logan stated as he slapped Noah's shoulder and gave thumbs up.

"Sure," he replied and gave a sly smile. "If it means getting brownie points with Rhuben then you're going to be glad to do anything." Logan blushed but didn't say anything to deny it and that partially shocked Noah. "Oh, so you finally admit it?"

"I realized my feelings for her a while ago," Logan admitted, blushing harder as the attention was now all on him. "But I don't know how she feels, as I can guess she only sees me in a friendly way." He cleared his throat. "But I'm fine with it." Patrick, Noah, Sydney, Kendall, and Carlos looked at him skeptically. "Really. I am."

"Sure." Sydney replied dismissively. He turned as the sound of a bedroom door opened and James came out of his and Carlos' room, carrying four dress bags over his shoulder.

"Ok, I'm ready to go." He announced.

"What did Carlos do to you?" Kendall asked warily when he saw no signs of a struggle on James at all. Carlos just smiled evilly, causing James to gulp and clear his throat.

"Nothing important," he replied and brushed some of his hair behind his ear. "Let's get going."

"Good Oh" Noah replied with a nod, ignoring the confused looks on the boys' faces as he turned and led everybody out of the apartment, out of the Palm Woods (where he waved at Bitters' who glared at all of them before slinking back into his office) and into the waiting cab. Noah gave the driver directions and sat back, waiting to get home.

Logan stayed quiet as he watched the Jacksons joke around with his friends. He didn't get it, how could they act like nothing was going on when they were _this close_ to seeing their father, their tormenter again. When Riley and Rhuben had told him what was going on during their phone call last night, he was rightfully upset, but they were acting like nothing was wrong.

'_I guess they're just used to it_' Logan thought to himself. '_I mean, so far all they've had is bad luck, so I guess they just start to expect it after a while.'_ He debated on whether or not he should tell his friends, but in the end decided not to. '_They'll tell them when the time is right. I just hope that I don't go crazy keeping this secret._'

"Logan," Patrick's voice brought him out of his reverie. "What would bring on a deserted island if you could bring one thing?"

"Not this again," Kendall groaned along with James. "The last time he was asked this question, he and Noah got into a fight over what was more realistic."

"And I'm still telling you that a roller coaster would be fine!" Carlos snapped as he slapped Logan on the back of the head.

"Ouch!" Logan slapped his friend back. "And _I _still say it was stupid!" he snapped back, resulting in the two of them getting into a play slap-fight. Kendall rolled his eyes and rubbed his face, muttering something about being surrounded by a bunch of idiots.

Noah smiled at his friends' antics and looked out the window as they neared their house. "Excuse me," he leaned forward and tapped the driver of the cab on the shoulder. "This is our stop right here." He pointed to a house up ahead and the driver stopped in the driveway. Noah gave the driver a credit card to which he slid through the scanner, immediately paying the fee and pulled open the side door to the cab.

Carlos shoved his way out of the car, Logan chasing after him, only to tackle him on the front lawn of the house. Kendall and James laughed as they got out behind their friends. Patrick smiled, but then it waned as his cell phone rang. He turned away from the guys and pulled it out, his brothers crowding around.

"It's Linda." He gasped seeing the name of the social worker on the phone. "What should I do?"

"Answer it." Sydney replied as if it was obvious, making the 'crazy' sign beside his head, causing Noah to chuckle.

"I can't do that!" Patrick started to panic. "You know that if she finds out that if we're having a party tonight it's not going to be a good thing. We could be taken away from Ronan and put back into the foster system." His eyebrows rose. "And you _know _how much I don't want to be there."

"Yeah, but she knows that you always have your phone on you," Noah pointed out. "So she'll be suspicious if you don't answer."

"Ha!" Patrick snorted. "She just wants to basatage," he paused as he made a confused face. "Savatage…our family"

"You mean sabotage?" Noah corrected.

"That too!" Patrick declared as the phone stopped ringing.

"Great, now she knows that something's up," Sydney whined. "What are we going to do?" he asked as he widened his blue eyes up at his older twin brothers, who hesitated for a second before replying.

"We'll tell Ronan that she called and tell her to call her back; he can take care of the rest while we work on this party." Noah replied and turned to say something to the boys of Big Time Rush; bust stopped and stared when he saw that they were wrestling each other on the ground, shouting about who was the favorite of the group. "Uh, what are you blokes doing?"

"Nothing." They replied, freezing where they were. Logan was pushing Kendall's head into the ground, Carlos was tugging on Logan's hair, and James had Carlos around the neck.

"Come on, we have a lot of work to do." Patrick easily pulled them to their feet and steered them towards the house. "Come on, come on, come on."

"Uh, Patrick, you do know that as soon as you open the door they're just going to want to run around and-"

"OH MY GOD!"

"WHOAH!"

"LOOK AT THAT!"

"Wow," Sydney blinked once. "I really shoved have seen that coming." He scratched his forehead as he closed the front door behind him and took off his shoes, watching as the four boys raced back and forth, looking at everything. "Is it really all guys that act like they have ADD?"

"No, but Patrick does." Noah commented dryly as he watched Patrick and Carlos jump up and down in excitement s he pointed out different things about the house. "I wonder what will happen when they see the pool.

"OH MY GOD!" James's voice came from the back of the house. "JUST LOOK AT THIS POOL!"

"Spoke too soon." Noah sighed as thudding footsteps filled the air. He turned around as some came from behind him and he saw Ronan coming down the stairs. "Hey Ronan. The guys are here to help." He pointed over his shoulder. "But they're by the pool."

"So they came to gawk at everything?" Ronan asked as he raised an eyebrow, tying a tie around his neck.

"Exactly," Sydney replied with a nod. "Anyway, Lisa called and she wants to talk to you." He shoved his phone into Ronan's face with a sweet smile. "Like now." He paused. "Just…don't tell her about the party."

"Alright," Ronan took the phone and started to dial a number. "How many people are coming to the party tonight?" He looked thoughtful. "And when are Riley and Rhuben getting back here?"

"Just our few closest friends from the palm woods," Noah replied and Sydney's smile grew wider s he nodded in agreement. "We're just going to set up some food, lock some rooms and get changed." His smile grew wider. "So you don't have to worry about anything being broken."

"With Patrick and his hyperness around Carlos, yes I do." Ronan joked in reply.

"But Riles and Rhubes are going to be back here with the girls soon." Sydney added. "They texted us just a few minutes ago saying that they were on their way with Joey, Cammie, and Stephie." He added, using his nicknames for the girls.

"Alright, let me know if you need any help." Ronan replied as he put the phone up to his ear and walked away.

"So, let's get the guys and get started." Sydney said to Noah, brushing his hair off of his forehead before walking out to the backyard. The two of them saw the four boys, plus their brother in the pool, splashing around, too excited to get any swim trunks before jumping in. Noah sighed before sticking his fingers in his mouth and whistling shrilly. "Come on guys, we have a lot of work to do."

Noah and Sydney helped their friends out of the pool, pushing Patrick back in for extra measure when he tried to get out and started to decorate the house. They had locked all of their bedrooms and were the only ones that had the keys to get in, just in case anyone started to get a bit curious. Then all of the boys grabbed decorations and stared to get to work. Kendall and Logan had the streamers and started to hang it around the house, getting so into it that they ended up tying up Carlos and sticking him to the wall. James blew up as many balloons as he could, before getting light headed so Patrick, Noah, and Sydney took over. But some of the balloons that they had pre-blown they unraveled and started to suck back the helium, laughing at each others' squeaking voices.

Finally they all gathered into the room that was going to be Julius' (nothing had been unpacked yet) to get changed for the party.

"So, when's your brother supposed to get here?" Logan asked as he tied a tie around his neck, using the mirror to make sure that it was on correctly. "Landy and Bella told me that he's supposed to be coming home soon. Is he done with college?"

"No," Sydney replied as he pulled on his shoes and tied them. "He's going to be finishing college online." He stood up and brushed off his short-sleeved white button down shirt and blue t-shirt. "We were going to tell you this later, but he's going to be working with Ronan as our manager/music producer."

"That's cool." Kendall agreed as he placed his fedora on his head. "You guys must be excited." He looked down at his clothes and nodded." You picked out good clothes, James." He admitted.

"Told you, you have to trust me sometimes," James replied as he shoved Logan away from the mirror and started to comb his hair. "Looking good takes time."

"Yeah, so does looking ugly." Carlos replied and pointed at James behind his back as his friends rolled their eyes and shook their heads, finding that Carlos' joke wasn't as funny as Carlos thought. "What? I thought that was a good one."

"Yeah, we know." Patrick replied with a half smile. It faded almost instantly. He couldn't get the thought of Linda calling them out of his head. He knew that she only called when she was planning on visiting them, so he was hoping that Ronan was able to convince her to go another day. He couldn't think about what would happen if they were put back into foster care.

He didn't want to.

"So, let's get this party started."

The boys trooped downstairs and Sydney hooked up the sound system to his laptop and started to blare music as Mrs. Knight, Katie, and others from the Palm Woods started to arrive. The boys were having a good time, dancing with some people and getting to know others who had known the Jacksons from a few months to a few years. Plus the food was good, Carlos had added as he continued to shove chips and dip into his mouth. (There was even a bowl of mints that was sitting out. Just in case anyone didn't want permanent bad breath as James had said.)

"So, Logan, when Rhuben gets here are you going to ask her to dance?" James asked his friend as they stood around the snack table, taking a break from dancing and mingling to drink some punch.

"Yeah," Logan replied confidently as he took a sip and then turned to look at him pointedly. "Only if you don't ask her first this time." James knew that he was talking about when they threw a party for Katie's birthday.

"Hey, you were moving too slowly," James replied with a shrug. "I was just trying to show you what can happen if you hesitate."

"Yeah," Kendall replied sarcastically. "That's _exactly_ what you were doing." He replied, shaking his head.

"Oh yeah, what about you?" Carlos asked, making his presence known as he had just been standing by them, listening carefully. (Just in case he could use some of what they were saying for blackmail). "And Riley? I can tell you like her."

"Yeah, in a friendly way." Kendall replied as he raised an eyebrow.

"No you don't," James declared as he shook his head. "Trust me, I've had a bunch of girls like me before, and I've set up a bunch of people, I can tell when a guy likes someone. And you have the hots for her."

"No I don't." Kendall replied and sighed in exasperation. He looked over at Logan for help, but he was just looking back at him curiously. "Not you too! Listen, she's my friend and we're working in the same business, so I'm going to be around her a lot."

"But you two both like making plans and playing pranks." Carlos pointed out.

"So do you, but I don't like you, dude." Kendall replied and laughed at the funny look on Carlos' face. "To tell you the truth," He shrugged. "She's just, one of the guys you know. A friend that Logan had who's now our friend." He crushed his now empty cup in his hand and turned to throw it away. "I haven't even thought of her that way." He froze in his tracks when he saw the girls had arrived at the party. All dressed up in short dresses, along with bracelets and necklaces to go along with it. Even with their makeup and high-heels to match. His eyes were stuck on Riley and James, Logan, and Carlos noticed, smirking at each other.

Kendall let out a breath as he turned back around to face his friends.

"But maybe I should."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry I said that this chapter was going to be them back to their wacky selves, that's not until a few chapters away. In these chapters I wanted to show how the guys and girls get along with each other and I think I did a good job. And this chapter had humor and angst, what I think that I'm good at. :) What do you think? Constructive Criticism is welcome!**

**-Riley**


	4. Big Time House Party Pt2: Let's Party!

.:**Chapter Four – Big Time House Party Part 2:.**

**

* * *

**"Your guys' house is so cool!" Katie gushed as she looked around the party, holding onto a cup of punch.

She had just gotten to the party with her mom and immediately went to find her brother to show him that she arrived safely. Then she went in search of Patrick and Noah, easily finding them by the food table. The two had greeted her cheerfully and then complimented her on the blue and white plaid dress that she was wearing. Katie responded said that she liked their clothes too and went to get some punch.

The party was filled with their friends from the Palm Woods and Ronan's co-workers at Rocque Records, including Kelly and Gustavo. But Ronan said that Gustavo could only go to the party if he agreed that he wouldn't get too caught up in having fun, especially after what happened with the boys last time he was having too much fun. Gustavo was depressed about it, but agreed anyway.

"Thanks, the game room is my favorite." Patrick replied as he smiled in reply. He turned to Noah, who was standing beside them, looking around. "What about you?"

"I think our bedroom is my favorite, just because it has a balcony on it." He replied in his quiet voice, almost shouting to be heard over the music. He looked around. "Where's Sydney?"

"Taking song requests obviously," Katie replied as she pointed. The twins turned around to see Sydney sitting on a stool by his laptop, holding onto an iPod. The Jennifers were standing above him and they were talking about something. "Hm, I didn't think the Jennifers would ever talk to someone that wasn't a Jennifer."

"Well, Syd's cute," Patrick replied sounding as if he was jealous of that fact. "So he can get practically anyone to talk to him. His ears perked up as the song 'Right Round' by Flo Rida started to blare through the speakers. "Dude, awesome song!" he turned and put his cup down. "You guys wanna dance?"

"Yeah, sounds fun," Katie nodded and put her cup down too before turning to Noah. "You coming?"

"Go ahead," Noah replied as he too put down his punch, brushing his hands off on his jeans. "I'll be back in a tick; I just have to hit the dunny first."

"Hit the dummy?" Katie repeated as she wrinkled her nose.

"Hit the _dunny_," Patrick corrected politely. "It means go to the bathroom." He slapped his brother on the shoulder. "We'll be here when you get back." He added with a wink before leading Katie onto the dance floor.

Noah raised his eyebrows in reply but didn't say anything before turning to go back into the house. The party was in the large backyard, but the pool was roped off as no one had brought swim clothes. Noah waved to Riley and Rhuben, who were dancing with Jo, Stephanie, and Camille before slipping into the house. As opposed to all of the kids and teenagers who were hanging out outside, Ronan, Mrs. Knight, Gustavo, Kelly, and all of the other adults were all inside, sipping champagne and/or wine and talking to each other. He gave a small wave to Ronan before going into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.

He quickly used the bathroom and started to wash his hands, looking down as he made sure he scrubbed them well. His lips curled up at the thought of Patrick being with him, watching as his twin washed his hands. The same thing happened every time, he would make a comment about Noah being a neat freak and the two would get into a small water fight. It was one of the few things that still made them laugh now. Noah looked up into the mirror and let out a cry as he stumbled back, hitting the towel rack and sliding to the floor.

Heart beating in his chest, Noah glanced up at the mirror from where he was sitting on the floor. Blood was pounding in his ears and he was having a bit of trouble catching his breath. Finally, when he was sure that he wouldn't pass out, Noah slowly got to his feet and looked into the mirror again.

He frowned and his reflection did the same.

It was weird, just a few seconds before he could have sworn that he had seen his father's face in the mirror.

"It must have just been my imagination," Noah whispered to himself and splashed water on his face. He flinched when there was a knock on the door.

"Noah, are you ok?" It was Kelly. "I heard a sound in there."

"Yeah, I'm just fine." Noah called back, wiping off his hands. "I just slipped on a little bit of water that I spilled." He laughed a little bit. "Clumsy me." He added with a bright smile as he opened the door and turned off the light.

"Just making sure that you didn't bash your head in," Kelly replied with a little chuckle. "Gustavo wouldn't be too happy."

"Why's that?" Noah asked as he raised an eyebrow, actually curious.

"Don't tell anyone I told you this because he won't admit it to himself," Kelly replied and moved closer to the young boy. "Gustavo still sees you guys as competition and he thinks that if he sees you that way he thinks that he has to push the boys harder and harder, thus making them better so they can perform better."

"I'll…take that as a compliment." Noah replied before moving around Kelly to go back outside. He pushed his way onto the dance floor and grabbed onto Katie's arm, spinning her away from Patrick. "My turn." He grinned at his brother, who rolled his eyes but smiled back.

"Whatever dude, I'm going to see if there's anyone else that would want to dance with me." He replied as he ran his fingers through his spikes, he had put it back up into a fauxhawk for the party. Noah snorted.

"With those two left feet, I think they'd be wanting a doctor on call" Noah shot back. Patrick laughed sarcastically in reply before moving around the two of them.

"Do you guys always tease each other like that?" Katie asked as she held onto Noah's hands as they moved to the beat of the fast paced song.

"Yeah," Noah replied with a fond chuckle. "All of us are like that, we like to laugh and teasing each other is the easiest way to do it. But we know that we don't mean it."

"Kendall and I used to be like that," Katie sighed. "But lately he's always hanging out with his friends or your sisters, so I don't really get to hang out with him much anymore."

"I'm sorry," Noah replied, sounding completely apologetic. "Maybe you should just talk to Kendall about it."

"It's not that bad," Katie replied and gave a small laugh. "I get to hang out with you and Patrick and Sydney and that's fine. Especially when it comes to trying to get my brother and your sister together."

"Oh, so you see it too?" Noah smiled and spun Katie around in a circle. "I thought it was just me." He rolled his eyes. "Of course she denies it even though the rest of us can see that she is acting the same way she always does whenever she likes someone." He smirked. "Do you have a plan yet?"

"I'm working on one." Katie replied with an evil grin, causing Noah to laugh again.

The two continued to dance and as they went along Noah felt himself starting to loosen up a bit. He even talked to some other people that were living in the Palm Woods that he hadn't talked to before. He could be shy at times, not as shy as Sydney, but he could clam up when he didn't know someone. Being around his friends and being able to have fun was taking his mind off of everything that had been going wrong lately.

During a slow number, Noah grabbed Katie's hand and spun her around. As he did so, he looked up and frowned when he saw a familiar looking person in the crowd. It was his dad.

"Dad?" Noah muttered to himself as he slowly stopped dancing.

"Noah," Katie placed a hand on Noah's arm. "Noah, is something wrong?"

"No," Noah replied and shook his head before giving a brief smile. "I'll be right back though," he started to back away. "I think I just saw someone I know and I haven't seen him in a long time." He held his hands up. "Just stay here, I'll be back."

With that, Noah pushed sideways through the crowd of people as he tried to get closer to _him_. His father and tormenter, Robert Jackson. As he pushed forward he could see it now, that it was his father and he was looking at his son with a mixture between a smirk and a smile.

"Dad!" he called as loud as he could, pushing through the throngs of people. "Daddy!"

He was hit in the side and stumbled a little bit. Quickly catching his balance, he apologized to whoever had bumped into his and looked up again.

But his dad was gone.

'_Was he even there in the first place?_' Noah asked himself, rubbing his forehead. '_You're losing it_.'

Across the pool deck, Riley and Rhuben were talking to their friends, having taken a break from dancing. The guys were explaining how they were going to be working with some new artists and some others that people had heard of before.

"Like who, exactly?" Camille asked as she leaned forward on her chair to take off her high heels.

"Well, the new ones we're sure that you haven't heard of," James replied as she brushed his hair out of his face. "But we're going to be working with Justin Bieber tomorrow."

"No way!" Jo and Stephanie cried at the same time. Riley and Rhuben just sat back where they were sitting as Camille's eyes grew wide.

"I'm guessing that you guys are Bieber fans." Logan commented with a chuckle.

"His music is so good," Stephanie pointed out. "If you guys could get a good song out of it, I'm sure that Justin Bieber would be the one to help."

"And from the way that you're sitting there I'm guessing you two _aren't_ Bieber fans." Logan added, laughing at the careless frowns on their faces. Rhuben wordlessly moved her finger up to her nose, indicating that he was right.

"He sounds like a girl." Riley commented and smiled as Carlos laughed in agreement and the two bumped fists. "Let me know when he gets taller and his balls drop then we'll talk." She added, her smile growing bigger.

"What about you guys?" Kendall asked, messing with the cup that was in his hands. "Are you going to be working with any bands?"

"Well Ronan has been talking to a lot of people," Rhuben replied after letting out a breath, staring at the sky. "But we aren't sure about anything yet. We've changed our music style a lot since the last CD, so that should make it easier to find people." She added. "But once we know, we'll tell you guys."

"So, I have a question," Jo asked slowly. "You don't have to answer it if you don't want to, but I was just curious. Is Ronan going to adopt you guys?"

"Hoping so," Riley replied as she twirled her red strand of hair around her finger, looking at her hands. "We've been talking about it and our social worker has come around from time to time to check up on us." She laughed a little bit, a bitter laugh. "She's kind of a priss though, like she had a stick up her arse."

Rhuben looked over at her sister and didn't have to ask to know that she was thinking about what could happen if Linda came over to the house today. She may just see a party with a bunch of people and no supervision in sight and decide that Ronan wasn't a fit parent for the five of them. But they all knew that it wasn't true and made sure to be on their best behavior every time she was around, just to make sure.

"I didn't mean to make you upset." Jo quickly stated when the two girls didn't say anything more.

"Oh, no I was just thinking about a song I'm writing." Riley replied with a chuckle. "It didn't have to do with anything we were talking about before. She ran her hand over her wrist and Kendall followed her movements, noticing a small cut on her wrist. He brought his punch up to his mouth and took a sip, not saying anything.

"So, who's ready to start dancing again?" Stephanie asked as she got to her feet.

"I'm so ready!" Carlos declared as he held out his arm. Stephanie grinned as she took the offer. "Let's show these people what dancing is really like." The others laughed as the two of them walked out onto the dance floor. Earlier it had only been the girls that were dancing as the guys just stood around, talking to each other.

After looking around at their group to see who would go next, Logan cleared his throat and wiped his hands on his pants before standing up and holding his hand out to Rhuben. "Bells, do you want to dance?" he asked, his voice quivering with nervousness.

"I thought you wouldn't ask, Logie." She replied with a hint of a smile as she took his hand and followed him onto the dance floor. Logan grinned to himself, not expecting her to say 'yes' to his offer. He turned around to grin at James, and the brunette smiled and gave thumbs up in reply.

Kendall laughed at his friends as he shook his head. Logan was almost as happy as he was whenever he scored a goal on the ice rink. But in his own opinion nothing could ever beat hockey. (Not that that's surprising.) Kendall went back to drinking his punch and almost choked when a hand was shoved in his face. "Hockey-Head?"

"What?" Kendall coughed as he looked up at Riley, who looked amused.

"I'm asking you to dance," she replied and rolled her eyes. "I mean, I've already danced with James, Carlos, and Logan, now I need to see how well you do."

"Uh, ok, sure." Kendall put his cup down before taking Riley's hand and following her onto the dance floor. '_Wow, way to act like an idiot, Kendall_' he snapped to himself. '_I mean, you're acting like you haven't heard an invitation to dance before._' He was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to realize that her hand was shaking, as if she had just seen something that scared her. Kendall nodded to Ronan, who smiled when he passed them.

Ronan was taking his rounds along the pool deck, making sure that the people that were there were those that he or his kids knew. Wait a minute. Ronan shook his head. They weren't his kids, at least not yet. While walking around the pool deck, stopping and talking to some teenagers, and catching up with the Jacksons for a few moments, he thought about the phone call that he had had with Linda that day.

She was supposed to come over to the house that day, but thankfully Ronan was able to talk her out of it, saying that he had too much stuff to do. Even as an adult, he knew that it wasn't in any of their best interests if she found out about the party because she always jumped to conclusions and wouldn't let anyone jump in when she was going on a tangent. (As that had happened many times before.)

Finally, he walked back into the house and sat down on a couch, going back to his conversation with Kelly, Gustavo, and Kacy (Mrs. Knight to those of you who don't know.)

"Sorry about that, I was just checking on my…I mean," Ronan sighed as he ran a hand over his face. "Geez, this is still really hard."

"It's still hard to think about them possibly not being yours?" Kacy asked gently. "It's ok, Ronan, we know that they're going to choose the best possible situation for them. And you're it."

"Kacy's right," Gustavo replied, surprising showing a different side of himself. Even though he hated to admit it, he actually sort of…liked the Jacksons. They weren't afraid to talk back to him, and they did make great music. "It's not like this Linda chick is going to be dumb enough to send them off with some other person they don't know." He looked at Kacy, Kelly, and Ronan, who were staring at him, noticing how he wasn't acting like himself and he cleared his throat. "Hot in here?" he asked in his almost shouting tone. "This is nice Champagne, what year?"

He loudly took a sip as Kelly rolled her eyes at her boss' antics and leaned forward. "Ronan, anyone without a brain could see that you really care for them. They wouldn't want to put them in a place they're not happy.

"Yeah, like that didn't happen before?" Ronan asked as he raised an eyebrow. "I mean, they constantly ignored my calls when I knew that…_bastard_ was hurting them."

"Well, you said that they announced their abuse back in Australia and have done PSA's right?" Kacy asked as she rubbed his shoulder. "Just think positively and things will go your way."

"I guess you're right." Ronan replied and then changed the subject as he started to feel a little uncomfortable. "So, Gustavo, what do you have coming up for the boys?"

"They're going to be working with Justin Bieber tomorrow." Gustavo replied, happy that he didn't have to talk about something so depressing anymore. "I think that it will really help them keep up the fan base they have now.

"Yes, the screaming girls are all anyone ever cares for." Kelly replied as she smiled a little bit. "But you have to admit that it's a good ploy. Getting the biggest pop-singer of right now will really help the boys."

"Well, I just have one question with everything" Kacy jumped in and everybody turned their attention to her, knowing that she probably had a lot of ask as she was brought to LA with her daughter out of the blue. "How much money do you think the guys will be paid for their work and can they get some more time off?"

"Well, with the money it's going to have to be determined with record sales and ticket sales with concerts and stuff," Kelly replied smiling sweetly.

"What do you mean more time off?" Gustavo demanded, almost shouting again. Some people that were standing near them backed away, holding their hands over their ears. "They can't afford more time off; they need to work to be good."

"Yes, but they're still boys and they need to see their families every once in a while." Kacy pointed out calmly and then frowned. "And don't use that tone of voice with me, mister!"

"Sorry!" Gustavo apologized quickly, causing Ronan and Kelly to laugh.

The party winded down after that and after a hour or so of cleaning everything up, Ronan started to make his rounds around the house, making sure the Jacksons were ready for bed. Ronan knocked on Sydney's door and smiled when he saw the small boy on his laptop, like usual.

"You need to put that away if you don't want your eyesight to go," Ronan stated. Sydney looked up and muttered something before closing it and walked across the room to place it on his dresser. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sydney replied and then paused as he turned to look at Ronan, an inquisitive look in his eyes. "Ronan, if you see something that's not there does it mean that you're going crazy?"

"No," Ronan chuckled a little bit. "It just means that your eyes played a trick on you." He thought for a second. "Why? What did you see?"

"It was nothing important," Sydney replied as he pulled back his covers and got into the bed. "Can you bring me With?" Ronan smiled before walking across the room to the cage that was sitting on a dresser. He opened it and gently pulled out the albino bunny that was sitting in the cage before walking back to Sydney's bed and handing it to him.

"Just don't blame me if he eats your blanket." Ronan warned and mused Sydney's hair.

Sydney giggled, his dimples appearing in his cheeks and set down his pet before lying down on his pillow. "I won't."

Ronan turned off the light and left the room before going over to Patrick's and Noah's room. The two of them were lying in their bunk beds, Noah on top and Patrick on bottom, talking and reading. They looked up as Ronan entered the room.

"Hey Ronan," Patrick greeted as he grabbed his glasses, blushing guiltily when he saw that he was caught reading without them. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"Yeah, did you?" Ronan replied, leaning against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest. He smirked at Noah. "I saw you and Katie dance a lot. Are you guys going out or something?"

"Or something" Patrick answered.

Noah made a noise of annoyance before turning to Ronan; his cheeks tinged a light pink. "We're not going out, and I'm not sure if we're going to." He cleared his throat. "Not that I have enough time to anyway. Besides," he grinned. "You should be asking Riles and Rhu about that."

"I'm sure I'm going to hear about it at breakfast tomorrow from you two anyway." Ronan replied as he laughed good naturedly.

"Most likely," Patrick replied and pulled off his glasses as he lay down in his bed. Noah turned on his side, getting ready to go to sleep too. "Hey Ronan?" Patrick sat up.

"Yeah?" Ronan looked up.

"What did Linda say?" he asked. Noah turned back around, looking curious.

"Nothing really," Ronan put his hands in his pockets. "She was supposed to be coming over but I talked her out of it."

"Thanks" The twins replied in unison.

"No problem. Good night, Sparky. Good night Physic." Ronan replied, using their nicknames before leaving the room and going to the last one. He knocked on the door and waited until he heard Rhuben say that he could come in before opening the door.

He smiled when he saw the two girls sitting on the floor, backs resting against their beds. Most of their stuff had been unpacked but there were still some boxes in the corner of the room.

"Shouldn't you guys be going to sleep, it's late" Ronan looked at his watch and then at the eldest twin. "Especially you, Riles, since we all know you're going to be up in a few hours anyway." Riley waved off the sentence, giving a smile.

"We didn't hear Gustavo yelling at all tonight, how was he?" Rhuben asked as she twisted her body to face him.

"Surprisingly well," Ronan replied before looking both ways in the hallway and leaning forward, putting a hand up to his mouth. "Don't tell anyone this but he told me that he likes you guys"

"No way." Rhuben snorted.

"Impossible." Riley added as she shook her head.

"I swear," Ronan held up a hand as if giving an oath. "You can even ask Kelly and Kacy if you want to."

"I just might." Rhuben replied with a laugh. "Gustavo saying that he likes us never thought I'd see the day."

"Me either," Ronan laughed and then clapped his hands. "Get into bed; we have a hard day tomorrow. We have to do a lot of harmonies on Patrick's and Noah's song and you have to work on a routine to Sydney's song, Rhu."

"Fine," Rhuben sighed as she and Riley got into their beds.

Ronan turned off the light and started to close the door but Riley and Rhuben stopped him. "Good night, dad." They said in unison. Ronan froze and pushed the door open a little bit.

"I'm not your dad." He pointed out.

"Not yet." Riley replied.

Ronan smiled and closed the door fully before going to his room. He took a quick shower, changed into his pajamas and climbed into his bed. He stayed awake for a while, an arm behind his head, just thinking.

"Good night, dad." He muttered to himself, repeating the words that Riley and Rhuben had said before. A smile tugged at his lips. "I like the sound of that."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for this to be put up. I put a little bit about each character in this chapter. The part with the angst with Noah was hard for me to write. It took me about five times writing and re-writing it until I got it perfect. What did you guys think of the exchange with Ronan, Gustavo, Mrs. Knight, and Kelly? The ending part kind of made me feel sad to write, but it needed to be done as I said that this story has more angst than the last one. Don't worry the next chapter gets in on the fun stuff again. ^-^**

**Oh and Rhu and I are starting to draw some BTR art. If you go to our profile there is a link on it to our Deviant Art, click on that and there you go.**

**Oh and I never shared the news with you guys, Kendall and all of Big Time Rush has replied to one of my tweets twice on twitter. ^-^**

**Thanks**

**-Riley**


	5. Big Time Bieber Fever

.:**Chapter Five – Big Time Bieber Fever:.**

**

* * *

**The next day found the boys in Gustavo's office, waiting for Justin Bieber to arrive at the studio. They were told that it could quite possibly take a bit for him to arrive as there were many fans that had heard of his coming to the studio, and to that area in general, and were now encircling the building, trying to get a glimpse of them. When they had arrived earlier, James was disappointed to find out that they still weren't as famous as Justin. (But of course since he was obsessed with fame he would say that he was upset for not being more famous than a block of cheese.)

Finally after twenty minutes of waiting, he had arrived at the studio, dressed in his usual NY hat, grey hoodie, white t-shirt, jeans, flashy shoes, and a bright smile. "Dogs! Meet Justin Bieber!" Gustavo said loudly, causing the 15 year old boy to jump and slap his hands over his ears, not used to the volume of his voice. "Bieber, these are the dogs!"

"Why does he call you dogs?" Justin asked quietly, as if he was afraid that the large man was going to crush him. When he first saw the man, it was suffice to say that he had thought that he had been mistaken and that Gustavo was some Russian producer.

"Long story," James replied before they all moved forward to greet him. "I'm James, and these are my buds Kendall, Logan, and Carlos." He grinned, pumping Justin's arm in a friendly handshake. "We're Big Time Rush, maybe you've heard of our music?"

"Nice to meet you, and no, not really." Justin replied and shoved his hands into his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. "So, let's start recording."

"You heard him!" Gustavo shouted, causing all of the boys (that means Justin too) to jump. "Get into the studio! Time's money! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan quickly rushed out of the room, pushing and shoving each other so they didn't have to face Gustavo's wrath anymore. They hurried into the sound area of the recording booth, to listen to Justin record his part.

"So, what we're going to do is re-record Justin's hit song Baby, so you guys can have some vocals on it too." Gustavo said as he strolled into the room after them and sat down in a large chair in front of the system board. "Now, just do me a favor and DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!"

The four boys gave thumbs up and listened as Justin Bieber moved through his song, obviously enjoying the feeling of being able to sing again, especially after having to stay on a plane for so long just to get there. Gustavo stood up and clapped loudly when Justin was done singing, causing the young boy to start grinning.

"Justin, way to go!" Gustavo cried and then turned to the boys, resting his hand on the sound board. "You see! _That's_ how you need to sound!"

"You mean like girls?" Carlos questioned and didn't flinch as his friends slapped him on the arms.

"Uh, I can still hear you." Justin called from the sound booth. Gustavo quickly looked down and took his hand off of the sound board, laughing nervously. Justin smiled and shook his head as he took off his headphones and moved out of the sound booth.

"Ok dogs, it's your turn and I want you to sing like you've never sung before." Gustavo continued to lecture them.

"You mean like girls." Carlos reiterated, causing him to get slapped again.

"Yeah, again, I can hear you." Justin stated as he stepped into the room, smiling casually.

"Don't mind him being so rude, he was dropped on his head as a kid," Logan stated with a nervous laugh. "_Again and again_" he added before pushing his friend out of the room. Justin got himself settled into another chair and waited as the boys put on the headphones, moved up to the mic and Gustavo cued up the music again.

Kendall waited until his cue before he started singing. "For you, I would have done whatever. And I just can't believe we ain't together." He licked his lips as James came in on the next line."

"And I wanna play it cool, but I'm losin' you," James smiled widely as he sang. "I'll buy you anything; I'll buy you any ring.

"And im in pieces, baby fix me." Logan sang the next part in his higher pitched voice. "And just shake me til' you wake me from this bad dream."

"I'm going down, down, down, down." Carlos sang next, looking like he had kind of a grudge against it. "And I just can't believe my first love would be around."

"And I'm like, Baby, baby, baby ohh. Like baby, baby, baby no. Like baby, baby, baby ohh. I thought youd always be mine, mine." Kendall and Logan sang the chorus the first time.

"Baby, baby, baby ohh. Like baby, baby, baby no. Like baby, baby, baby ohhh. I thought youd always be mine, mine." James and Carlos sang the chorus the second time.

The four of them stopped singing and looked at Gustavo and Justin, waiting for their criticism. Actually, they were waiting for Gustavo's screaming, something that they were incredibly used to, and then Kelly would always jump in and defend the boys. Well, they couldn't really wait for that today, because Kelly was taking the day off, something anybody who worked with Gustavo deserved, along with a gold medal for working with him for so long.

"So," Kendall laughed nervously. "What did you think?"

"I thought it was excellent!" Gustavo replied with a large grin, causing the four boys to raise their eyebrows. Logan snorted, knowing that he was only acting that way for Justin. "Better than most! What did you think?" he turned to Justin, who smiled nervously.

Justin hesitated and then waited a few seconds before speaking. "I'm not feeling it." He replied and then crossed his arms over his chest. "Why don't you switch around the parts that you were singing?" he suggested. The boys shrugged and put their headphones back on before trying it again. They tried singing the song for about twenty minutes before Gustavo stopped them again.

This time Gustavo suggested that they go to the dance studio to try out the routine for Justin's song. Justin couldn't help but wince every time the song went on as the boys always crashed into each other and Logan once again had moved his arms too wide and smacked Carlos and Kendall across the face, sending the two of them spinning to the ground.

"What do you think?" Gustavo asked again.

"I'm still not feeling it," Justin replied. "Listen, Imma take a break for a while and then we can come back and try it again. Aight?"

"Sure thing, dawg!" Gustavo replied, trying to sound cool.

"Yeah, don't do that." Justin replied with a smile before leaving the room. Gustavo motioned for the guys to come out of the sound booth and they did so quickly.

"I want you to hang out with him" Gustavo muttered under his breath. "Keep him company and try to make him feel welcome because we always want him to come back to Rocque Records instead of going over to Rolling Records or Hawk Records."

"Hang out with the famous Justin Bieber and get a lot of girls' attention?" James asked with a large grin. "No problem, Gustavo!"

Justin was walking through the Palm Woods, a pair of sunglasses over his eyes, and looking around warily as he went. He wasn't sure if anyone had recognized him and he didn't really want to have a lot of attention put on him.

* * *

"Hey Justin! Watcha doing?"

Justin yelped and turned around to see Big Time Rush standing behind him looking at him curiously. Before anyone else could look at him, Justin moved a finger over his mouth and motioned for them to get behind the front desk. Bitters wasn't there, as the boys could clearly hear him reprimanding someone for breaking the pool rules.

"Wow, you really don't get the concept of someone not wanting to be seen do ya?" Justin asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you want to hide?" James demanded, not getting it at all. "I mean, you're famous. You have the girls, the cars, the money, the girls, the stuff," he paused in his list. "And did I mention the girls?"

"Yes, James, you did." Logan replied with a sigh.

"Yeah, well, none of that matters if you just want to hang out and have some fun like a kid," Justin replied. "Don't get me wrong, being famous is cool, as I'm sure you guys know." He added.

"Did you hear that?" James cried excitedly. "Justin thinks that we're famous."

"James, shut up for like a second, please." Kendall stated as he took James' mirror from his pocket and held it up in front of his friend's face. He immediately took the bait and started to muse his hair. "Sorry about him, he's _the face_ of the group.

"Good to know," Justin replied making a funny face. "Anyway, I would love to be able to spend the day just being a guy but I can't if I'm…me."

"Justin, what you would say if we could help you?" Kendall asked with that familiar sparkle of mischief in his eyes.

"Could you really do that?" Justin asked skeptically.

"If there's anything Kendall can come up with, it's a plan that goes his way," Logan agreed with a grin. "But the only thing that we have to worry about is people seeing that it's you."

"Just put him in a disguise." Carlos pointed out as if it was obvious. "It usually works in cartoons. Like Scooby Doo."

"Dude, I _love_ Scooby Doo!" James exclaimed, causing Carlos to grin and the two to high-five.

"Ok, that may work for Justin, but how are we going to let the people at Palm Woods see him, they know that he's supposed to be around today." Logan replied, always being the level-headed one.

"Just dress James up as Justin," Carlos replied, rolling his eyes. "Logie, you have to stop thinking realistically and start thinking like me."

"You mean not at all?" Logan questioned totally deadpan.

"Exactly," Carlos asked, not realizing the joke until seconds later. (Cue tuba sound.)

"He'll figure out what happens if and _when_ he gets caught." Kendall replied and then got to his feet. "Now all we have to do is find a costume."

* * *

"Camille, we need your help!" Logan, Carlos, and Kendall exclaimed in unison. They were standing in front of the resident actress, while she was minding her own business at the Palm Woods pool. Jo and Stephanie were sitting with her, so that meant that they were probably talking about girl stuff.

"With what?" Camille asked in bewilderment. She then looked suspicious. "Weren't you guys supposed to be working with Justin Bieber today?"

"Lucky." Jo added with an air of jealousy.

"We are, and that's why we need your help." Carlos replied. He sighed in exasperation as the girls looked at him in confusion.

"Ok, long story short we were working with Justin and we were actually kind of bad and he wanted to take a break, but because he wants to try and have fun, we have to dress James up as Justin and Justin up as a regular kid so we can show him a good time."

"BTR Style!" Carlos added.

"I don't know," Camille replied slowly as she rubbed her chin. "What do we get in return for helping you guys? Because we've been helping you a lot and we haven't really gotten a thank you or-"

"I promise that he'll give you guys autographs or whatever!" Kendall replied in annoyance.

"Deal." Camille replied with a grin.

* * *

"Ok James, have fun pretending to be Justin Bieber for the day." Kendall patted his friend on the shoulder and snuck out the side door of the Palm Woods along with Logan, Carlos, and Justin, who was also in disguise.

"Don't worry, I will." James replied and then smiled widely as he pushed open the front door of the Palm Woods and was immediately surrounded by screaming girls. "One at a time, shawty. One at a time." He said in his best Justin Bieber impression.

As James was having fun hanging out with all of the girls, Kendall, James, and Carlos hung out, showing Justin how they had fun in LA. They played numerous pranks on Bitters, went back up to their apartment and played on the swirly slide, and then played some dome hockey. Then they went along to run the race course that they had made to see who would win the Palm Woods cup (unfortunately to Logan and Kendall, Carlos won it again.). Finally they went to the Palm Woods pool and hung out a bit with Jo, Stephanie, and Camille, much to the girls' delight.

Logan was the one that realized what time it was and that they should be heading back to the Palm Woods to continue working on the song.

"Thanks for showing me how to have fun, dudes." Justin stated as they walked along Rocque Records. He was back in his normal clothes and was grinning from ear to ear. "I almost forgot what fun was like." He paused. "I mean, fun with my buds, instead of being on stage."

"We get what you mean," Kendall replied in reassurance. He paused for a second. "Actually there's still some other friends that we want you meet, they should be around here somewhere." He added as he turned in the opposite direction from the recording studio and headed towards the dance studios.

He looked through each glass window as he passed and then stopped and smiled when he found the one that the Jacksons' were in. The five of them were quickly moving in their dance steps, in the formation they usually were in Riley, Patrick, Sydney, Noah, then Rhuben, so it went in height order. Although now Patrick and Noah would probably have to move into the back.

Logan opened the door and walked right in the beat of the song, pulsing in his stomach. The Jacksons didn't look up, wanting to finish the routine before they stopped to greet their friends.

_(that girl)  
Just the way I like it  
Gotta have it just the way  
(that girl) Keep me open I be hopen that Im gon be with that (that girl)  
I cant believe (that girl) she's killing me Crazy, Sexy, Cool baby you that girl.  
That girl That girl  
That girl that girl (Oh that girl you know I like that girl)_

"Patrick, you were off on the second verse." Riley pointed out as she grabbed a towel and wiped off her neck. Patrick let out a fake-angry sigh and turned to look at his older sister, smirking as he had to tilt his head down to face her.

"Don't make me come down there." He warned teasingly.

"Please, we used to use that threat against you," Rhuben snorted before turning around and smiling at her friends. Logan noticed that her eyes didn't light up as they used to, and thought about asking her about it later. "Hey, what's up?"

"Not much," Carlos replied as Logan hugged Riley and Rhuben hello. "Just showing around Justin." He replied as he motioned to the boy beside him.

"Hey J-man, how's it hanging?" Patrick asked as he held out a hand, Justin grabbed it and the two came together in a 'man-hug'.

"Not bad, not bad," Justin replied as he rubbed his hands together and greeted the rest of the Jacksons. "No, how's it going?" Noah smiled and nodded in reply. "Hey Little Man." Sydney smiled and waved, from underneath the towel that was on his head. "Hey Baby Girls." He added to Riley and Rhuben.

"Hey Justin." They replied with tight smiles.

"You know him?" Kendall asked, his eyebrows raised.

"You're surprised?" Riley snorted in reply as she walked to the corner of the room and picked up a grey fedora. "By the way, Hockey-Head, you left this at our house last night." She rolled it down her arm and held it out to him.

"Thanks," Kendall replied with a charming smile as he grabbed it back and placed it on his head. "Anyway, we were working with him on a song, and decided to take a break."

"And long story short we thought that we would take him out for a day with the guys!" Logan replied and thumped himself on the chest. Rhuben crossed her arms over her chest as she raised an eyebrow.

"In other words that meant that while you guys were acting like yourselves you went running around the Palm Woods screaming and laughing like a bunch of banshees." She stated.

"Pretty much, yeah" Logan agreed with a nod.

"What song was that?" Justin asked as he walked over to the iPod that was connected to a laptop in the back of the room.

"Oh, it was a song that Noah and I wrote," Patrick replied as he wiped sweat off of his forehead. "It's a song called That Girl and is a mixture of R&B and Hip-Hop."

"Wow, you guys really have changed your music since your last album," Justin replied and then smiled warmly. "But that makes sense since you guys announced that you were being-"Patrick moved forward and quickly slapped a hand over Justin's mouth as Sydney laughed nervously.

Patrick quickly turned Justin out of ear shot of the boys from Big Time Rush, who was looking at each other in confusion. "They don't know that we've announced our abuse in Australia. They also don't know that we have our trial coming up soon."

"Oh, sorry dude." Justin apologized. "But it wouldn't surprise me if you they know about it soon, its spreading fast around the music industry."

"Trust me, we know." Patrick replied.

"Anyway," Justin stated loudly as he turned around. "You have to teach me some of those moves, Baby Girl," he stated as he walked over to Rhuben, knowing that she was the choreographer. "They were tight."

"I have an idea," Kendall stated after a second of thinking and then turned to Carlos and Logan. "I think that Justin should record his song with them."

"What?" Logan shrieked. "Don't you know what Gustavo will do to us?" He grabbed onto Kendall's shirt and started to shake him back and forth. "He'll get Freight Train to cram all of us up the _swirly slide_!"

"Swirly!" Carlos added with a devastating scream of horror.

"But he won't do anything to us if we say that Justin was the one that thought of it," Kendall replied and then made a face. "Frankly, we're just bad at singing that kind of music and we _suck_ with those dance moves."

"Yeah, that's true." Carlos and Logan murmured in reply.

"So, Justin, you're going to be recording the song with the DarkElements now," Kendall stated as he threw his arms around Logan's and Carlos' shoulders. "We'll just tell Gustavo that it wasn't working out. He'll yell at us like usual and we'll all go back to normal."

"Normal. Right" a voice behind them said shakily. They all turned to see James walking clumsily down the hallway, his clothes were torn, his hair was messed up, and he had a few cuts on his face.

"James, what happened?" Sydney asked his eyes extremely wide with shock. "How could you let your hair get so messed up?" he added as an afterthought.

"I'm glad _that's_ what you're worried about." Noah stated lamely as he crossed his arms over his chest, eyes narrowed with worry.

"What happened?" Logan questioned, repeating the little boy's question.

"Let's just say that girls aren't very happy when they're tricked." James replied and fell face-forward onto the ground, causing everyone to wince.

"C'mon," Kendall sighed as he, Logan, and Carlos lifted up the boy by the back of his clothes. "Let's get him to Gustavo's office." The Jacksons waved as they left and then Justin turned back to them, clearing his throat.

"So, should we get started on the beats?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "You know the song right?"

"That's an understatement," Rhuben replied as she rolled her eyes. "Whenever we're in the car and your song comes on, Patrick and Noah sing it all the time. They switch off with the verses and Patrick always does Ludacris' rap." she smiled a little bit. "That's his favorite part."

"Sweet!" Justin replied with a large grin. "This should be easy then!"

"Yeah," Riley sighed and nodded at the same time. "Let's just go tell Ronan what's going on." She picked up her bag as the others started to gather their stuff.

Patrick went over to his bag, which was sitting by the mirror, and went to pick it up. When he stood up and looked at his reflection in the mirror, he let out a yelp and jumped back, dropping his bag to the floor when he saw his father smirking back at him. His siblings quickly whipped their heads around when they heard the sound that came out of their brother's mouth.

"Pat?" Sydney's eyebrows crinkled together. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Patrick swallowed thickly, avoiding looking at the mirror. "I just dropped my bag on my foot."

* * *

**A/N: First off, I'm not sure how Justin actually speaks because, well, I'm not a fan of his. I like a few of his songs, but I'm not a fan. I just thought that it would be funny if he was in an episode kind of like this. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; I had a lot of fun writing it. I'm probably not going to update again until Monday, to give myself the weekend off, to rest for a bit. Anyway, the next chapter is going to be even funnier and will have more angst in it. If there is anything that you would like to see in this story, let me know.**

**I don't own the songs; Justin owns the song Baby and NLT owns the song That Girl. Thanks!**

**-Riley**


	6. Big Time Mall Rats

.:**Chapter Six – Big Time Mall Rats:.**

**

* * *

**"I'll get it" Rhuben called as she heard the doorbell ring from the kitchen. Grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl that was sitting on the counter, she walked out of the kitchen and into the foyer, grabbing the doorknob with her free hand. "Hey Logan." She greeted and took a step back so Logan could come inside, holding onto the straps of his backpack.

"Hey Bella, how's it going?" Logan asked as he smiled warmly. "Ready to get started on that homework?" Shortly after they had been reunited, the two had agreed to start doing homework together, as there were many things that Rhuben didn't get in her homeschooling and Logan loved to do homework. Along with that, the two of them, and Riley had agreed to set aside a time every Friday night to hang out with each other, like they used to when they were younger.

"Yeah, my books are in here." Rhuben replied as she turned and led him towards the living room. She looked up as there was a thudding on the stairs and Riley appeared in view, holding onto a pair of car keys.

"We're off to take Carlos to the mall before we bring him back to the Palm Woods for his birthday party." Riley announced before waving. "Hey Logie."

"Hey Landy," Logan replied with a bright smile. "Are you sure that you don't want to do your homework with us?"

"Hmm," Riley pretended to think as she lifted up her arms as if they were a scale, moving them up and down. "Doing homework or going to the mall." She sighed heavily and shook her head. "I'd have to say go to the mall."

"Always the procrastinator," Logan replied as he shook his head, making a 'tsk' sound with his tongue, to show his disappointment.

"You know it." Riley grinned.

"How'd your guys' song with Justin Bieber go by the way?" he asked as he made a face as if he was thinking. "That was like a week ago wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Riley shrugged. "It went fine. But we still don't know how our CD did, I think we figure it out the same day you guys do. So it shouldn't be too long now." She smiled again before turning to Rhuben. "The boys are coming with me and Ronan's asleep."

"Alright," Rhuben nodded. "We'll meet you at the mall as soon as we're done; tell the others I said 'hi'."

"No problem," Riley replied before flashing the peace sign. "Peace." She added before leaving the room.

"So what was it that you guys were going over today?" Logan asked as he opened his backpack and took out his books. Rhuben watched with a curled upper lip as he organized everything on the coffee table in front of them before sitting down beside her on the couch.

"Physics," Rhuben replied with a sigh as she cupped her chin in her hand. "Something about Water Displacement."

"Well," Logan licked his lips. "What part of that do you not get?"

"All of it."

"Ok then," Logan smiled before grabbing her Physics book and opening it up to the right page. "Water Displacement is just a term for putting a mass into water and seeing how the water displaces." He looked up at Rhuben, who looked back at him blankly. Logan tapped his chin as he thought. "Ok, think of it this way, Water Displacement is like pushing Carlos into the Palm Woods pool." He tried explaining again. "Have you ever noticed how the water rises?" Rhuben nodded. "Well that's because Carlos is taking up space, and the water has to move somewhere, and the only place I can go is up."

"That makes more sense," Rhuben muttered as she took a bite of the apple. "Why can't everything be that easy?"

"It is if you actually study," Logan pointed out. "Miss. I-don't-care-if-I-study-or-not-because-no-one's-going-to-use-this-later-in-life"

"That's true though," Rhuben replied with a half-smile. "No one ever uses water displacement to figure out anything." She rolled her eyes and finished her apple, tossing the core into the wastebasket that was by the chair across the room. "So what did you get Carlos for his birthday?"

"A lot of padding," Logan replied and then shrugged. "You know that eventually he's going to need it." He paused. "What did _you_ get him?"

"You'll find out." Rhuben replied with a smirk.

"Tell me," Logan replied and then groaned when Rhuben shook her head, writing a note in her notebook before flipping through the Physic book. Logan pouted in a childlike manner. "Please? I'll be your best friend."

"You already are, so that's not going to make a difference." Rhuben replied as she continued to scribble in her notebook.

"Fine, I'm just going to have to tickle it out of you." Logan sighed as if he had just said that there was a wind blowing.

"You wouldn't dare!" Rhuben finally looked up from her notebook, just to see Logan's brown eyes trained on hers, a smirk playing on his lips and an evil twinkle in his eye. Before Rhuben could move, he lunged forward, digging his fingers into Rhuben's ribs, causing loud laugh to escape from her.

"Logie, stop!" she cried as she twitched away, laughing hysterically.

"Tell me!" Logan shouted over her laughter, laughing himself as he tickled her. "You gotta tell me and I'll stop!"

Rhuben started to laugh so hard that she had stopped breathing, but she was still laughing as Logan could tell from her stomach contractions. Rhuben's eyes were narrowed and she was facing the TV. Her eyes popped open wide when she saw her father standing in front of the TV, arms folded across his chest. Uttering a low growl, he moved forward, an arm raised over his head.

Rhuben sat up, pushing Logan off of her, gasping loudly, shielding her face with her hands. "Don't hit me!" she whimpered.

"I wasn't going to hit you, Bells." Logan replied, looking confused. Rhuben brought her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. She was saying something and Logan couldn't tell what it was until he moved closer to her.

"Don't hurt me, don't hurt me, I'm sorry." She whispered over and over again, rocking back and forth.

"Bella," Logan started to shake her shoulder. "Bells! Rhuben! I'm not going to hurt you!" Logan licked his lips and took a wild guess. "Did you see your dad?" Rhuben's head shot up and she looked up at Logan, eyes red and tears falling down her cheeks. Logan could tell by looking at her that she was terrified. And by the way that she wasn't answering him, he was sure that he guessed right. "Listen, you dad isn't here. He's not going to hurt you." He cupped Rhuben's cheeks in his hands and looked at her intently. "I promise I won't let anyone hurt you…because…"

"Am I interrupting something?" Rhuben turned around and quickly brushed off her cheeks, jumping up and hurrying by Ronan, who was standing in the doorway, running a hand over his face and through his hair. He watched as Rhuben left the room and then looked back at Logan, who was watching her retreating back in concern. "Logan?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Everything's fine Mr. McGuire," Logan replied as he forced a smile. "She just went to get changed before we went to the mall to collect Carlos."

"Ronan's fine." Ronan replied as he looked back at Logan with a raised eyebrow. He hesitated a second before speaking a gain. "You know that I really care about them right?" he waited for Logan to nod before continuing. "So you would tell me if something was bothering them?" Logan nodded again. "Good."

"Ready." Rhuben replied as she ran back down the stairs now dressed in a purple tunic and black leggings with a small ponytail at the back of her short hair, instead of the sweats and t-shirt that she was wearing before. "We'll be back later Ronan." She added as she grabbed car keys off of a hook by the door. Without waiting for Logan, she pulled open the front door and hurried out to her car, a 2009 Ford Fusion. It was exactly like her sister's but black instead of red.

Logan took long strides to get to the passenger side of the car and got in as Rhuben turned on the engine, looking over her shoulder as she pulled out of the driveway. The two were silent on their way to the mall. Rhuben didn't want to mention her crying over nothing, especially her dad, and Logan knew her long enough to know that he shouldn't bring it up unless he wanted to get a punch across the jaw.

He just sat back and watched as the trees whizzed by, thinking about what he had said.

"_Listen, you dad isn't here. He's not going to hurt you. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you…because…"_

'_What were you going to say, Logan_?' he asked himself, slightly shaking his head. '_That you __love__ her? Yeah, that was really going to go over well. It's probably the worst thing that you could have done at that moment.' _He sighed heavily. '_All you have to do is keep your cool and wait for the right moment to tell her._'

"So," Logan cleared his throat and wiped his hands on the legs of his jeans. "When did you get your license?" he asked as they pulled up at the mall. The trip went by much faster than it did when the boys walked, took a cab, or took a bus.

"Over the summer when we were in Australia," Rhuben replied coolly as she parked the car. "Ri and I both got it, but we still need to get one for California." She turned off the car and climbed out, slamming the door behind her.

Logan sighed and got out after her.

* * *

"Carlos, could you _please_ hurry up and choose whatever candy you want to eat so we can get going?" Logan asked through clenched teeth, barely able to hold onto his annoyance.

"_Hey!_" Carlos turned around and fake-glared at his friend. "Whose birthday is it today?"

"It's yours, Carlos." Jo replied as she rolled her eyes, also annoyed. All of them (Big Time Rush, The DarkElements, Katie, Jo, Camille, and Stephanie) had wanted to leave like ten minutes ago, but Carlos kept insisting that they keep going into different stores, playing the birthday card the whole time. Now it was almost time for the mall to close. And the last store that he had dragged them to, much to the happiness of Patrick, Noah, Sydney, and Katie, was the Sweet Factory.

"That's right, it's _my_ birthday," Carlos went back to pressing his nose against the glass bin that held the gummy bears. "And on _my_ birthday, I'm going to try and decide what kind of candy I want to buy to pig out on before we go back to my birthday party."

"How did he find out about that?" Riley stage-whispered to Kendall, watching her friend in amusement.

Her brothers, who already had bought their candy, were standing nearby, chewing on handfuls of the junk. She looked over at her sister, who had her hands on her hips and was staring straight ahead. But Riley could tell that her sister was peeved because she could feel it deep down in her gut, and because she was clenching her jaw a vein in her neck stood out. And she only did that when she was thoroughly ticked off by something.

"It's Carlos," Kendall muttered back in reply. "Anything that he ever finds out is because he pesters someone into telling him or because he snoops around." He shrugged. "Then again, it's not that much of a surprise for us anymore." He added.

"Good point."

"Carlos, just pick the stupid candy so we can get out of here!" James snapped, slapping a hand onto his friend's shoulder.

"Just because of that, I'm going to take even longer." Carlos sing-songed before moving to another part of the store.

"The mall's going to close soon," Camille whispered to herself as she looked at her watch. "He better hurry up." Sydney, who was standing nearby her, gave Noah his bag of candy to hold and turned the bag that was on his back around to his front and quickly pulled out his laptop.

"Do you always carry that around with you?" Stephanie asked as she looked over at him.

"Yeah, he does," Noah replied with a slight eye roll. "In his words, you don't know when you're going to need technology, so he always brings it along."

"Carlos, this is getting on my last nerve," Stephanie spoke up as she turned to her almost-boyfriend. "Now just pick some damn candy so we can go home and drown your with presents and cake!"

"Can't we just drown him?" Rhuben asked as he shrugged her shoulders. "I doubt anyone's going to miss him _that_ much."

"Carlos," Stephanie placed a hand on the boys' shoulder and batted her eyelashes. "Please? Can we go?" Carlos smiled goofily as he grabbed onto a plastic bin, as if he was trying to hold himself up. Katie raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Ok, just, let me get this rung up." Carlos replied and started to fill a bag with Orange Slices.

"Actually, I think the registers are closed." Katie commented as she looked around. It was then that she noticed there was no one else in the mall and that they were literally the last ones there. "Uh, guys, I think we should hurry. I think the mall is about to-"

Before she could finish, the lights suddenly shut off, causing everybody to hear the sound of power generators shutting down. Sydney sighed as he closed his laptop. "That's what I was getting ready to say." He stated.

"So why didn't you tell us?" Patrick demanded, gesturing violently in the direction that he had last seen his baby brother.

"Ouch!" Riley's voice sounded. "What were you're going!"

"I kinda _can't,_ seeing how I can't see!" Patrick snapped.

"You wear glasses, what's your excuse now?"

"Guys, don't fight each other," James stated as he slowly stared to move towards the last place he saw Carlos. "We should be fighting the person that caused this problem!" he shouted the last few words.

"Dude, I'm missing my birthday party." Carlos replied, sounding like he was going to cry. "Don't you know how I feel?" he made a sniffing sound. "I'm going to miss my friends, my cake, my presents…"

"Ok, nobody panic," Logan stated being the level-headed reasonable one as always. If there was anyone that could find a way for them to get out of the mall, it was going to be him. "The first thing that we need to do is find a source of light."

Almost as if by magic, a flame suddenly appeared by his face, causing him to jerk back. Riley smiled apologetically and then her eyes widened as everybody turned to look at her.

"What?" she questioned innocently. "I don't smoke; I just flick the top open and closed. It's a force of habit."

"Ok," Logan went back to his plan. "The next thing that we need to do is call out and see if we can get anyone." With that everybody pulled their cell phones out and started to wave them around.

"No bars." James sighed.

"Me either." Noah agreed.

"Who would have thought that an iPhone 4 would have let you down?" Jo scoffed as she put her cell phone back into her pocket.

"I told you there were bugs in it." Rhuben replied as she stretched her arms and rested them on her hips again. She then started to chew on her lower lip as a faraway look came into her eyes.

"Ok, so this is what we're going to do" Riley and Kendall stated and looked at each other. Riley hesitated a second and then moved her finger over her lip in a zipping formation and motioned to Kendall, to let him have the floor to speak.

"This is what we're going to do," he repeated as he quickly thought of a plan. "It's obvious that we're not going to get out of here," he stated, looking at everyone's faces in the dim fire light. "But our parents are going to know that we're gone and are going to try and get people in here soon. So all that we can do for now is get stuff to eat and get sleeping bags and pillow and stuff, just in case it takes a while to get out of here."

"I suggest that the guys get the food and the girls get the sleeping stuff," Riley stated after a second.

"Why?" Carlos spoke up.

"_Because_," Riley sighed the word, adding in about five extra syllables. "You guys are, well guys in general, are more susceptible to getting the wrong things." She frowned when there was a blank silence.

"Boys are idiots!" Katie re-iterated, rolling her eyes.

"I don't think that's true," Sydney stated as he stuck his nose in the air. Logan made a sound of agreement and nodded rapidly. "Anyway, not for Logan and me at least." He added in a fake-cough.

"Ok, us girls will get sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets." Stephanie said as she moved away from Carlos' side. She looked at the ceiling in thought. "I think we'll need to get some lamps too."

"Wait a second," Logan's eyes widened. "You mean we're going to be _stealing_ this stuff?"

"Think of it as borrowing." Rhuben replied simply and looked away when Logan turned his gaze towards her. James noticed but didn't say anything, making a note to ask about it later. "So let's get going." She turned and started to walk away. She then paused when she heard the clattering of footsteps. "Freeze!" she shouted, turning back around. Using her cell phone light, she could see the guys had all frozen where they were, one foot hovering in the air. "No junk food, we need actual food."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Sydney replied before they went running off again.

* * *

"I still don't like the idea of stealing this stuff," Logan commented as he looked around at the arrangement of sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, and lamps.

They had all decided that the center of the mall was the best place to set up camp and were now eating some food that the guys had brought back from the food court. They had now been in the mall for two hours and were trying to find ways to entertain themselves. They had already told all of the jokes they know, and sang some songs, but they were starting to lose interest and getting extremely bored.

Logan let out a sigh and he wrinkled his nose when he picked up a hamburger that was from McDonalds. "Did this get cooked all the way?"

"You probably don't want to know the answer to that," James replied as he chewed on some chicken nuggets. "You probably don't want to know what's actually in this stuff either."

"That's why I don't eat fast food," Kendall added with a shrug. "You never know what's put in it."

"I'm bored." Jo sighed as she looked around. She turned back to the others, her eyes wide and shining. "Let's play a game!"

"What kind of a game?" Katie asked warily. "Because if it's something as stupid as when you are in a handstand and try to see how many jelly beans you eat, I'd pass."

"Besides, no one can beat _my_ score!" Carlos added as he punched the air with his fists.

"Then let's play a game to get to know each other better," Riley spoke up after a second before motioning to herself and her siblings. "We play this all the time with our backup dancers and back up musicians. What you do is you make a statement, and then if it applies to you, then you raise your hand." She paused and lifted a finger.

"Thing is though," Rhuben jumped into the explanation, interrupting her sister. "That you can't go any further into an explanation." She motioned over to Patrick. "Like if he said that he had broken his arm in an embarrassing way, you can't ask him how it happened, he has to volunteer the information himself, and if he doesn't want to, he doesn't have to."

"Sounds fun." Stephanie agreed and then smiled. "I'll go first and I'll make it an easy one." She thought for a second and then smiled again. "My favorite color is yellow."

Patrick thrust his hand into the air, a bright smile on his face. James snorted. "Really? Don't you think that's kind of a girly color?" he asked with a laugh.

"I'm not the one wearing pink." Patrick shot back, pointing out the bright colored shirt that James was wearing.

"Hey! _Real_ men wear pink" he replied defensively.

"To get onto the next statement and to increase the peace," Camille jumped in, laughing a little bit. "I have a brother." She, Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, Sydney, and Katie raised their hands, as obvious as that was.

"Just for shiggles," Rhuben started and then raised an eyebrow when Carlos snorted, not having heard that word before. "Shits and giggles." She explained quickly. "I'm not afraid of the dark." Everybody but Carlos and Sydney raised their hands.

"You're afraid of the dark?" Stephanie asked as she turned to Carlos. He shrugged in reply.

"You don't know what's in it!" he declared, suddenly getting emotional. "I mean there could be some sort of an axe maniac getting ready to jump out at you. Or some kind of killer dentist with the power tools to rip your throat out. Or-"

"Ok, you've been watching too many horror movies!" Kendall declared as he slapped a hand over his friend's mouth. He let out a sigh. "Man, I wish we were at the Palm Woods right now."

"So do I," Katie agreed. "That way Carlos wouldn't keep complaining about his party, and his presents, and his cake."

"My cake!" Carlos wailed, causing everybody to groan and shake their heads.

"Carlos would you just _shut up_ about that stupid cake. " Rhuben growled dangerously. Carlos squeaked and nodded eyes wide with fear.

"Ok, I have a statement," James said from where he was sitting next to Rhuben. He grinned as he looked around at everybody that was sitting in the circle. "I have a crush on someone in this room."

"We're not in a room, Handsome, we're in a mall." Riley pointed out.

"In this _mall_, then, Beautiful." James corrected himself, rolling his eyes. Shortly before the Jacksons had left, they had given each other nicknames. Riley and Rhuben call Logan Logie, Riley calls Kendall Hockey-Head, Riley and Rhuben call James Handsome, and Patrick, Noah, and Sydney call Carlos Speedy, off of Speedy Gonzalez, who seemed to have an infinite amount of energy.

He looked around as he raised his hand. Slowly everybody but Sydney and Camille started to raise theirs. Logan was surprised as Camille had a crush on him almost as soon as he got to the Palm Woods, but she must have backed off, because he was almost positive that everybody knew about his not-so-subtle crush on Rhuben. James was surprised to see that Riley, Rhuben, and Jo were raising their hands as they never seemed to show any signs of them having a crush on someone.

"Wow, that's' interesting." He stated, voicing his thoughts.

"Well, now, I'm bored of this game too," Katie muttered as she placed her chin in her hands. "Let's play something else."

"I've got one," Riley grinned evilly as she turned to James. "James, I dare you to kiss Jo."

"I didn't know we were playing truth or dare," Jo stated as she looked around in confusion, seemingly trying to stall for time.

"Yeah, well, I was bored." She replied, her grin growing wider and then motioned to James. "Go one James, kiss her."

"Alright." James got up and moved over to where Jo was, everybody watching him intently. He closed his eyes, leaned forward, and placed his lips on Jo's. Sydney made a gagging sound and turned away as everybody else started to clap, cheer, and tease the two of them.

Jo's eyes were closed as James kissed her. Jo felt lightening shoot through her, a million sparks flew everywhere. She closed her eyes tighter as a shiver crawled down her spine. She felt tingles right down to the tips of my fingers. James's lips were so gentle, loving and warm.

"Ok, you can stop now." Riley laughed. From the tone of her voice, Jo could tell that she had been saying it for a while, and she quickly pulled away, glad that it was dark enough that no one could see her flushed cheeks.

"So, am I an awesomely good kisser or what?" James asked as he went back to his place.

"Oh shut up!" Jo snapped in reply, wishing that the redness in her cheeks would go away.

Beside Kendall, Noah suddenly stiffened as he tiled his head to the side, his eyes shifting back and forth. Kendall's eyebrow's furrowed together as he looked towards the younger boy, wondering what he was doing. Finally, his blue eyes opened wide and he leapt to his feet. "Someone's coming!"

"It's the evil dentist!" Carlos screamed and dove behind Stephanie as if using her as a shield.

"Calm down, Carlos, I'm sure that it's just a security guard." Jo stated as she held up her hands in a comforting way. There was suddenly a loud grinding sound, causing everybody to jump and look around wildly. "Then again…" she stuttered. "I have no idea what that was."

"It's the evil dentist." Carlos whispered again.

"It's _not_ the evil dentist." Logan stated as he rolled his eyes. "The evil dentist is something that James, Kendall, and I made up when we were ten so we could scare you." He smirked. "I didn't think that you would still be afraid of it."

"Well, whatever it is, I'm not sticking around to find out what it is!" Patrick declared as he leapt to his feet. The grinding sound came again and he started to whimper. Suddenly there was a flash of light and a shout.

"HEY YOU!"

"RUN!" Riley shrieked and everybody took off in random directions.

She got up and started sprinting as fast as she could, not really caring where she was going, but hoping to get as far away as possible. Finally, she stopped running when she entered Dick's Sporting Goods. There were a lot of good places to hide there, especially the tents at the back of the store. Now all she needed to do was get back there without crashing into anything. Suddenly a hand landed on her shoulder and she screamed loudly before whirling around, getting ready to attack whoever it was.

"Sorry!" Kendall apologized and despite the fact that it was pitch-black, Riley could almost see the smile on his face. "I didn't mean to scare you!"

"What are you doing here?" Riley asked as he pulled out her cell phone and used the light to see.

"Apparently you had the same idea I did." Kendall replied as he motioned to the store. "I was getting ready to go hide in a tent."

"Same here," Riley replied as she raised an eyebrow.

"Come on then." Kendall turned and started to lead her towards the back of the store. "Careful, there's a basket of-"he stopped and winced when he heard the sound of the basket falling over, Riley cursing, and basketballs bouncing away. Kendall burst out laughing as he turned around, opening his phone.

Riley was sitting on the ground, holding onto her shin and glaring at him.

"That's right," she spat as she rubbed her shin. "Keep on laughing."

"Ok" Kendall replied and took in another breath before laughing even harder, all the while pointing at her. Riley waited for him to finish before glaring up at him. "Fine, here." He moved forward and held his hand out to her. Riley grabbed onto his hand and he easily helped her to her feet.

"What?" Riley asked, noticing that Kendall had a funny look on his face.

"You know you're-"There was another crashing sound from the other side of the store and Kendall's eyes widened. "Never mind! Let's get out of here!" Still holding onto her hand, Kendal turned and ran out of the store as fast as he could go. He screamed and screeched to a halt when he saw a security guard in front of him.

He turned around and screamed again, jumping into Riley's arm when he saw a large person standing behind them.

"DOG, STOP BARKING!"

"Gustavo?" Riley and Kendall stated in unison as the lights turned back on. The two of them looked around and saw Gustavo, Kelly, Kacy, and Ronan all standing in front of them looking at the two with odd expressions on their faces. Riley moved her arms to the side and Kendall dropped to the ground. "Well, it's _about time_ you got here!" she cried as she moved over to Ronan. "What took you so long?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but it's hard to catch thirteen kids running around screaming like banshees." Ronan replied as he raised an eyebrow. "Especially Carlos, he was screaming something about an evil dentist."

"Don't ask." Kendall replied as he got off of the ground, brushing off his clothes. Kacy moved forward and wrapped her arms around her son in a tight hug.

"Oh my baby!" she squealed as she rocked him back and forth. "I'm so glad you're ok! Are you hurt? Did you eat enough?"

"Mom! I'm ok!" Kendall replied as he started to blush. "Where's everybody else?"

"They're already outside," Ronan replied as he put his arm around Riley's shoulder. She leaned heavily into his side, snickering to herself at the spectacle Kacy was making. "Come on, let's get you guys home." He turned and they all walked outside of the mall, where the rest of their friends were waiting.

"Sorry about your birthday being ruined, Carlos." Rhuben apologized.

"Yeah, dude," James agreed as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We'll give you your presents later."

"Are you kidding?" Carlos suddenly grinned. "This was the _best_ birthday _ever_!"

"Come again?" Logan asked as he and his friends exchanged confused glances. Carlos sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"Hello!" he called, waving his arms around. "How many times can you say that you've ever been locked in a mall and chased by an evil dentist?" Rhuben opened her mouth to say that there was no evil dentist, but Jo slapped a hand over her mouth, shaking her head. "And the best part was that I was able to be locked in with my friends." He smiled serenely. "What could be better than that?"

"Well, if you don't want your gifts, I'm sure we can take them back." Patrick replied as he shoved his hands into his pockets, looking up at the sky as he whistled innocently.

"No, no, I still want the gifts." Carlos insisted, causing everyone to laugh.

"Happy Birthday, Carlos!" Sydney said, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Happy Birthday, Carlos." Everyone else repeated.

"I guess we're going to be moving your birthday party to tomorrow." Katie stated as she looked at the time. "Because there's no way I'm letting you eat cake tonight. You'll just be bouncing off the walls."

"My cake!" Carlos cried dramatically and pretended to cry on Logan's shoulder.

"Wow, maybe he should be the one that's trying out for acting." Camille stated as she shook her head. She turned towards a security guard. "I guess we're all ready to go home." She said to him before turning and waving to everyone. "We'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, Carlos." Stephanie smiled and kissed the boy on the cheek before going off with Jo and Camille to be driven back to the Palm Woods.

"Bye, Stephanie." Carlos smiled as he watched her walk away, seconds before Kendall, James, and Logan surrounded him, curious expressions and bright smiles on their faces. "Sorry guys, I don't _kiss_ and tell." He said and laughed a little bit.

"Oh come on, dude, you _have_ to tell us how you two got together!" James declared as he grabbed onto Carlos' shirt front. "You can't just leave it at that." He started to shake his short friend. "_Tell us!_" Carlos laughed as he pushed James' hands away.

"That ought to be an interesting story, but we have to go." Rhuben said as she waved and brushed her hair out of her face. "Who wants to ride home with Ronan?"

"I do!" Sydney declared and latched himself onto the older man's leg.

"Later," Riley gave a wave and turned to walk away. She paused and turned back to Kendall, an eyebrow raised. "What were you going to say when we were in dick's sporting goods?" she questioned. Kendall looked at her in confusion and then smiled.

"I was just going to say that you're lighter than you look." He replied and took a step back as Riley went to smack him on the back of the head.

"C'mon Riles, let's go." Patrick wrapped an arm around her shoulder and dragged her away. As they all walked to their cars, Riley noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She frowned, eyes narrowing into a glare when she saw her father at the end of the parking lot, smirking back at her, his hands in his pockets. "Riles, is something wrong?"

Riley looked up and noticed that she was at her car. She looked around and saw Ronan and Rhuben walking over to their cars, getting ready to leave. "No," she replied as she got into the driver's seat and buckled up. She started the car and pulled out of the parking spot. "Not at all." She replied and watched in the rear-view mirror as her dad grew smaller and smaller until she couldn't see him anymore.

"Dogs, tell me." Gustavo stated quietly as he turned to the four boys, who looked back at him worriedly. "HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID AS TO GET LOCKED IN A MALL?"

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know I said that I wouldn't updating this weekend, but I couldn't resist. I needed a fix of Big Time Rush and decided that the best way to do that was by writing. So here's the chapter for you guys and I hope you like it. ^-^**

**PS- Is there anything that you would like to see in this story?**

**-Riley**


	7. Big Time Fight or Flight

.:**Chapter Seven – Big Time Fight or Flight:.**

**

* * *

**Its a few days after everybody had gotten stuck in the mall. Funny enough their ordeal was put into the newspaper and they weren't ordered to pay for whatever they had eaten or used, as the mall goers were amazed that a group of teenagers had gotten locked in the mall and stayed level-headed about it instead of going on a shopping spree. Everybody had celebrated Carlos' birthday, a day late, and the party was still really cool as all of their friends were there. Stephanie and Carlos had announced that they were now a couple and Jo and James were starting to date a little bit themselves, much to the shock of everybody else.

If they had known what kind of drama would have unfolded in the next few days, maybe they would have been a little bit more thankful for the friends that they had.

Ronan let out a breath as he got up from his desk to go to the kitchen, taking a break from his music producing. He entered the kitchen and greeted Kelly and Gustavo with a wave, before jumping backwards when Gustavo started to yell at him.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO KEEP YOUR KIDS OUT OF MY OFFICE" Gustavo shouted so loud that Ronan's hair was pushed back off of his forehead and his tie flew over his shoulder. He brushed his hair down and pulled down his tie before replying.

"Never," he stated simply and then rolled his eyes. "What did they do now?"

"They _tampered_ with my _stuff_ so that whenever I go to _touch_ or _move_ it, they _fall down_ or _break apart_!" Gustavo shouted and held up a picture frame that had crumbled in his hands. Used to the tricks that the Jacksons pulled, Ronan reached out and grabbed a piece of the picture frame and turned it over, inspecting it.

He started to chuckle as he handed it back, causing Gustavo and Kelly to look at each other strangely. "What's so funny?" Kelly asked before Gustavo could belt out another round of screams and caused himself to have a heart attack.

"This is breakaway stuff," Ronan replied as he pointed to the manufactures' name. "The kids use it all the time when they're making videos for YouTube when they're bored." A though suddenly occurred to him and he patted his back pocket, noticing that his wallet was gone. "And I've figured out how they got it."

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?" Gustavo shouted.

Ronan raised an eyebrow and looked at his cell phone before sighing and turning to make himself a cup of coffee. "For right now, nothing." He replied, hands shaking slightly as he poured cream into a Styrofoam cup. "But ask me that again when the week is over."

"The trial," Kelly stated after a second. "It's this Saturday isn't it?" she let out a heavy sigh as Ronan nodded, still not turning around. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to explain to them that things may not turn out the way they want it to," Ronan replied, finally turning around, warming his hands on the Styrofoam cup. "Then we're going to go…they may have to testify, and then we wait for the results."

"And what if it _doesn't_ come out the way you want it to?" Gustavo asked as he pulled off his sunglasses and looked at Ronan intently. Ronan sighed as he drummed his fingers on the side of the cup. "Because I have been alive long enough to know what can happen at these kinds of trials."

"Gustavo, you're only 34, I'm one year older than you." Ronan pointed out.

"Still," Gustavo slapped Ronan on the shoulder in a friendly way, almost knocking him over. "Some of the worst judging I have ever seen has come from trials about child abuse. You may want to make sure that your…uh…_kids_ are emotionally ready for it."

"Thanks." Ronan replied with a small smile. "But I'm sure that they're fine."

"What makes you say that?" Kelly asked as she smiled back. She knew that they were fine, if they were able to keep up and sometimes surpass Big Time Rush on their antics, she knew that they could take care of themselves. But she wanted Ronan to know that she and Gustavo were there for him.

"Because the last time we watched a horror movie," Ronan couldn't help but laugh as he smiled. "They didn't bat an eye."

"So?" Gustavo looked offended. "I don't bat an eye at horror movies!"

"Yes, but you cry at chick-flicks." Kelly replied as she patted him on the arm.

* * *

"Hey Kendall, where are you going?" Logan asked. Kendall lifted his head and raised an eyebrow when he saw Katie, James, and Logan standing around Carlos, who was on the floor, balancing in a headstand (with the aid of his helmet) all holding onto pillows."We were going to see how long each of us can stand on our heads as we whack each other with pillows."

"You must be bored." Mrs. Knight commented from where she was sitting, watching some soap opera on TV. She turned around and smiled at them. "As long as you don't make a lot of noise and don't break anything, go ahead."

"Days of Our Lives?" Kendall asked as he leaned over the couch and kissed his mother on the cheek. Wordlessly, she nodded in reply, eyes glued to the TV already sucked into the world of bad acting and predictable shows. "We'll I'll see you guys later." He started towards the door and stopped when he heard Katie's voice.

"Where are you going, bro?" Katie asked as she turned to her brother, placing a hand on her hip. "We figured that you'd want first crack at this." She jumped as Logan and James took their pillows and whacked Carlos at the same time, knocking him to the ground.

"That's not fair!" Carlos shouted as he lifted his head from the ground. "Only one person at a time can hit!"

"Sorry, must not have understood" Logan replied with a grin. James grinned and laughed in reply and the two high-fived as Carlos pulled himself back into a handstand.

"I was just going…to spend some time alone." Kendall replied as he slowly started to back up. "Maybe go to the mall or-"

"Freeze!" James shouted, holding a hand up into the air. Abandoning his pillow he walked up to Kendall, a hand on his chin, and scrutinized his friend as he walked around him in a circle. Finally, he stood back and grinned. "You're going to see a girl aren't you?" he asked and then continued when Kendall looked shocked. "You're going to ask Riley out."

"How could have possibly known that?" Kendall demanded in awe.

"I have an eye for detail." James replied. He frowned and glared at Logan as he cleared his throat extra loud, to show that he didn't believe him. "Ok, so I have an eye for detail when it comes to how you dress." He waved an arm up and down. "And Kendall is definitely dressing better than usual."

"Yeah, I have to agree with that." Katie nodded as she looked him up and down.

"Katie!" Kendall cried in dismay.

"I'm sorry bro, but sometimes you look like a train wreck." She smiled sweetly. "The only reason I don't say anything is because I find it funny to see what kinds of looks you get because of it."

"Gee, thanks." Kendall rolled his eyes.

"Well, good luck, dude." James slapped him on the shoulder as Logan nodded in agreement. "And remember, if she says no, it's not because she doesn't like you, it's probably because she doesn't like your shirt." He turned back towards Carlos as Logan burst out laughing and a pained expression filled Kendall's features. "What do you think, Carlitos?"

"I think…all the blood is rushing to my head." Carlos replied as he went cross-eyed.

"Don't listen to them," Katie replied and then patted her brother on the arm, smiling warmly. "Go get her, bro."

"Thanks." Kendall smiled and mussed her hair before leaving the apartment. He didn't take two steps away from the door before he heard a loud crashing sound and his friends' voices get louder as they started arguing over something. His smile grew wider as he shook his head, heading down to the Palm Woods lobby.

"Wow, don't you look all gussied up" Jo commented as she looked up from the magazine that she was reading. She, Camille, and Stephanie were sitting in the Palm Woods lobby, trying to figure out what they were going to do that day when she had spotted Kendall. Instantly they were all interested in what he was doing and put down their magazines.

"Are you going to ask Riley out?" Stephanie asked as she grinned.

Kendall blinked and stared at them blankly. "How does _everybody_ know that when I haven't told anyone?"

"We're girls we can tell when a guy likes us." Camille replied and then looked smug. "Why do you think some girls play with guys? It's because we're not interested and think that we should have a little fun with it."

"Isn't that kind of cruel?" Kendall asked as he wrinkled his nose.

Camille shrugged carelessly. "That's what you get for ordering us for making sandwiches for you guys all the time." She replied and smiled sweetly.

"Riley's in the gym," Jo replied as she pointed.

"Why would she be here at the _Palm Woods_ gym when she lives in a _mansion_ that holds probably as much equipment in her own home?" he asked, not understanding why anyone would want to leave a mansion in the first place. When he had seen Gustavo's house, he was incredibly upset that he had to leave, because living in the lap of luxury like that means you have had it made. "That makes no sense."

"You'd have to ask her." Jo replied and the three girls waved him onto the gym.

Kendall smiled, turned, and went in the direction that Jo had pointed earlier. He entered the gym and looked around for the girl, and then spotted her familiar black and red hair. He walked over and saw that she was lying down on a weight lifting bench, lifting and lowering a bar bell, a look of concentration on her face. Kendall walked around the bench and looked over the top of the contraption, to smile down at her.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to have a spotter?" he asked with a smirk. Riley glanced at him before refocusing on the ceiling.

"Not if you know what you're doing." She replied before setting the bar bell into the holder before getting up and turning to face him. "What brings you by, Hockey-Head?" she asked as he grabbed a towel and wiped it across her forehead.

'_What, does she think that's my name_?' he asked himself, trying not to look annoyed as he walked around the bar bell to stand by her. He cleared his throat. "I live here." He pointed out and wiped his hands off against his pants legs. "What are you doing here?"

"I was at Rocque Records recording and Ronan gave me about an hour for a break as he went to work with Patrick." Riley replied and moved the towel around her shoulders. "It was our day to record, Rhuben and Noah have tomorrow, and Sydney the last day." She paused when she saw that he wasn't really paying attention. "Was there something you wanted?" she asked as she moved to pick up some dumb bells.

"Uh, yeah," Kendall hesitated before following her. Sitting down on a bench as she started to raise and lower the weights in her hands. "I was wondering if you were busy."

Riley raised an eyebrow as she looked around at all of the weight lifting equipment as if he was stupid. "You could say that." She replied.

"No, I meant, later this afternoon." Kendall replied and then smiled. "Do you want to hang out?"

'_What?_' Riley paused and a panic feeling settled in, dropping the weights that were in her hands, the sudden sound causing Kendall and others to jump. '_I can't have him know that we have to meet with Linda today. We're talking about the trial on Saturday and I don't need him feeling sorry for me._' Letting out a breath and not looking at him, Riley went to grab the dumb bells again. "Sorry, I'm busy."

"Well what about tonight?" Kendall asked, not wanting to give up.

"Busy." Riley repeated, the grip on the dumb bells tightening slightly.

"What about-"

"Kendall, we can just hang out later," Riley interrupted, suddenly feeling really annoyed and angry. "I already told you, I'm busy."

"Alright," Kendall stood up, swallowing thickly, wringing his hands. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Later." Riley replied shortly.

She watched his reflection in the mirror as he walked away, eyes downcast and his hands shoved into his pockets. Being the observant person that she was, she knew that she had hurt his feelings and contemplated going back and apologizing. But that was the thing with Riley Jackson, whenever she was sorry about something she never usually had to say it. Her siblings could always tell from the way that she looked at them or from the way that she carried herself. Same with Logan, and he had gotten used to the fact that sometimes her anger got the better of her and she said things she didn't mean.

She watched as he left the room completely and then went back to work.

Maybe after she was done working out.

* * *

Rhuben sighed as she put her key into the lock on the front door, twisted it, and pushed it open. Noah squeezed into the door before she could move and blasted up the stairs, calling for his brothers. Rhuben shook her head as she closed the door behind her and tossed her keys onto the table at the side of the door and kicked off her shoes. She and Noah got a lot of work done when it came to their recording, but she knew that her mind wasn't in it. Ronan could tell that something was bothering her when she didn't even stay an hour after just to work on some dance moves, something that she always did and always enjoyed doing. But he understood it at the same time.

"Where's Ronan?" Riley questioned from where she was sitting on a stool at the counter, on her laptop. She had barely looked up when her sister had walked in.

"He's going out to get us dinner," Rhuben replied as she pulled herself up onto a stool and rested her arms on the counter, looking at the chipped purple nail polish that was on her nails, funny how it looked like the color of a bruise. "To cheer us up, I guess."

Riley finally looked up from the computer screen and then closed it, regarding her twin. "You're thinking about our conversation last night." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yep." Rhuben replied shortly.

"_So give it to us straight, Linda." Ronan stated as he stared at the strict-looking woman sitting in front of him. Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney were sitting around the sides of the large wicker table as Ronan and Linda sat on the ends. They were all tense, hands becoming increasingly sweaty, no matter how many times they had wiped it off on their pants. "What's going to happen with the trial?"_

_Linda seemed to hesitate as her dark eyes, usually empty-looking, flicked back and forth between the Jacksons. They were all staring at her intently, all eyes the same shade of blue, and it was starting to make her a little nervous._

"_Are you sure you don't want to know about the adoption first?" she asked as she shuffled a few papers that she had pulled out of her brief case._

"_You're stalling!" Rhuben snapped, feeling a little high-strung. "Don't baby us and tell us what's going on!"_

"_Rhuben." Ronan hissed and Rhuben crossed her arms over her chest, sinking low in her seat. _

_In her peripheral vision, she could see Riley's hands in her lap, clenching and unclenching over and over again. On her other side, Patrick was breathing heavily, eyes down at his lap as he wrapped a frayed piece of string from the hole at the knee of his jeans around his finger, watching as it turned purple before letting it go and starting again._

'_Just __tell us already__' Rhuben thought to herself as she clenched her jaw. 'I can't __stand__ the tension'_

"_Well, I've gone over the facts again and again," Linda sighed as she continued to shuffle the papers nervously. "And I've talked to your lawyer. And we've all come to the same conclusion." She finally stopped shuffling and sighed, looking sad. It was the first time that any of them had seen her looking anything other than strict. "I'm sorry, but we've come to the conclusion that whether or not he __does__ admit that he is guilty of abusing these children that he will spend a few years in jail, seven tops, and then be eligible for parole."_

_Rhuben stared in shock. 'This woman must be crazy' she thought to herself desperately. 'She must be reading something wrong' she slowly started to shake her head as the meaning had finally started to sink in. Biting her thumbnail, she squeezed her eyes shut, screaming every curse word that she knew in her head._

_Ronan, on the other hand, decided to express his view on it in another way. "FUCK!" He shouted, slamming his hand on the table. The Jacksons jumped and stared at him, never having heard him curse before. _

_They had never heard him raise his voice either._

"_I'm sorry," Linda was saying as she started to gather her stuff and put it back into her briefcase. "I know this must be hard, but we, your lawyer and I, are going to try and fight this as hard as we can." She hesitated as s he stood up. "Is there anything I can do?"_

"_No, we'll be fine." Ronan cleared his throat and stood up. "Let me walk you out."_

_The Jacksons had stayed where they were, shocked into silence. Finally, Sydney's face crumpled and he started to wail loudly. Noah let out a shaky sigh, bending his head down. Patrick put an arm around his twin's shoulders and Noah leaned into him, staring down at his hands. Riley jumped up so fast her chair fell over. She must have wanted to hit something really bad, for she grabbed the chair legs and lifted it into the air, and slammed it to the ground before storming out of the room._

_Rhuben just sat there, eyes void of any emotion as she had trained herself to do years before. Her hands were in her lap, shaking. She had them clenched so hard that her nails were digging into her hands, little bits of blood starting to pour out._

_It seemed as if some greater power had it out for them._

"If I had known that was going to happen earlier, I would have stopped myself from breaking that chair." Riley muttered as she picked at her own nails. Rhuben could see a vein in her neck throbbing, letting her know that her sister was still extremely pissed.

"It wouldn't have made a difference." Rhuben replied simply. "How did Patrick do today?"

"Well, since you guys had left to record and work on vocals and stuff he sat on the window seat staring in the backyard for a while." Riley replied as she looked at the ceiling in thought. "Sydney stayed up in his room, petting With and would only come out when he was hungry." She looked at Rhuben, who was looking back at her. "How was Noah?"

"Quiet as usual," Rhuben replied as she scratched her forehead. "I don't know, he didn't really put much into his singing, we're probably going to have to go back." Rhuben frowned and started to speak again, but a loud thud and the sound of scrabbling feet caused her to look up at the ceiling.

"What was that?" Riley asked, eyebrows knitting together.

"I don't know." Rhuben replied slowly as she slid off of the stool she was sitting on and left the kitchen. She didn't have to look back to know that her sister was right behind her. The two climbed the stairs and stood at the end of the hall, looking around warily. "Guys?" she called and then frowned when she received no answer.

"I don't like the sound of that." Riley muttered, referring to the silence. She moved down the hallway towards Sydney's room and ducked inside. Rhuben immediately knew what she was doing and went over to Patrick's and Noah's room to look in there. "Nothing." Riley announced.

"Same." Rhuben added as she exited the room, almost walking right into her sister. "Where'd they-"

At the same time, the girls noticed the movement down the hallway and slowly turned their heads around. Rhuben's mouth fell open as a soft gasp escaped her lips and her vision started to fade away at the edges.

Tunnel Vision.

Her father grinned evilly as he looked back at his twin daughters. "Well, well, well, look what we have here." He started to move towards the two girls. Rhuben could feel her heart starting to beat faster and faster as she and Riley took a step back for every step he took forward. "Trust me; you're not going to want to run."

'_He's right_' Rhuben thought to herself as she swallowed thickly, trying to catch her breath. '_I never run away from him. I always right_'. Something caught her eye as Robert brought his hands up to crack his knuckles. She recognized it instantly, remembering a few years back when her arm had become broken.

Brass Knuckles.

The twin girls continued to back up, moving slowly, as if a quick movement would cause him to lunge at them. Suddenly, Rhuben felt a hand clamp down on her arm and she was tugged back into the closet. Riley fell on top of her seconds before the door closed again. She looked up to see Patrick holding onto the door handle as tightly as possible. Noah and Sydney were sitting against the back wall. They all jumped when they heard a loud slamming sound, accompanied with the sound of wood splintering and their father's grunts.

"I know you're in there," he stated, breathing heavily. "Don't think that I won't get you out of there." There was another blow to the door.

"None of you are hurt are you?" Riley asked as she quickly checked her brothers over. She paused when she checked Sydney. "You're wet." She whispered, worried that it might be blood.

"I peed myself," Sydney replied sniffling quietly. "Symptoms of fear or fight-or-flight response; acceleration of heart, paling or flushing, dilation of pupils, relaxation of bladder, loss of hearing, tunnel vision, acceleration of instantaneous reflexes, and shaking." He rattled off the list of symptoms, letting Riley know that he was shaken, but not hurt. "I have everything except for loss of hearing."

"What happened?" Rhuben demanded, grabbing onto Noah's shoulders.

"GET OUT!" Another slam on the door. Patrick cried out as he loosened his grip momentarily and then grabbed onto the door handle again.

"I'm losing my grip," he cried desperately. "I don't know if I can hold on much longer."

"We were just playing video games when he suddenly lurched into the room." Noah explained quickly, his voice hoarse. "He was aiming to hit me with his brass knuckles, but I saw him out of the corner of my eye and dove to the ground. We all got up and ran in here as fast as we could."

"What are we going to do?" Sydney whimpered.

"Let me think," Riley started to pace back and forth, her eyes squeezed shut. "What we'll do is-"

"Wait," Patrick interrupted. "It's quiet." The Jacksons listened intently, there was nothing. "See?" All of a sudden they could hear the sound of rain pouring down on their house. "When did it start raining?"

"Shut up!" Rhuben hissed and then listened again. There was nothing, so breathing, no footsteps; it was as if their father wasn't there.

Silence.

It was definitely a scary sound.

A sound that they knew all too well and feared.

It meant that their father was hiding out somewhere, waiting to strike.

"Ok, this is what we're going to do." Riley stated after she thought for a second. "Rhu and I will go out there and try and draw dad out." She started to pat her pocket. "Do any of you guys have your phone?"

"Battery's dead." Patrick replied as he, Noah, and Sydney shook their heads. Noah's was in the game room, along with Sydney's and boy now it was probably all smashed up. Riley's was down in the kitchen. Rhuben thought really hard about where hers was and sighed heavily when she remembered exactly where it was.

"It's in my car." She replied and shook her head. "I'm so _stupid_."

"No one's stupid," Riley replied quickly and cracked a small smile, despite the situation they were in. "Except for dad because he went along and decided to pull _this_ stunt." She chuckled a little bit and then stopped. "Sorry." She licked her lips. "Rhu and I, we're going to go out there and draw dad out. You guys…you either have to stay here and protect Sydney, or try to get to Ronan's room and get to the phone."

"No," Patrick shook his head firmly. "Noah and I are taller now and we can bench a lot, we're going to get dad."

"No you're not," Rhuben snapped as she pushed him down. "You two are going to be the last resort to protect Syd. We've done this before, we can handle it." She quickly glanced over at her sister, waiting to see if she was ready before pushing open the closet door.

Riley moved by her sister and slowly stepped out of the closet. Rhuben slowly moved out behind her and before she could even take a step, she felt a hand grab onto her hair and pull hard, causing a screech of pain to come out of her mouth before she was turned around and punched in the stomach. Rhuben fell to her knees, gasping in pain, her face pale as Riley whirled around to face her father. Robert snarled as he moved towards her, his eyes seeming to glint with evil.

Riley lashed out her foot to kick him, but he grabbed her leg and twisted her to the ground. Riley let out a grunt of pain as her forehead hit the floor. Robert grabbed her by the back of her shirt and pulled her up, slamming her against the banister of the stairs. On the floor, Rhuben let go of her stomach and did a quick judo sweep, knocking Robert's feet out from underneath him. He fell to the floor heavily and Patrick took that opportunity to push open the closet door and go tearing towards Ronan's room, Noah and Sydney close behind him.

Robert tried to grab their feet, but they danced out of the way and kept running down the hall and into the room, slamming and locking the door behind them. Seconds later the door opened again and Noah stuck his head out, eyes wide with fear.

"The phone's not working!" he shouted. "He must have done something!"

"I'll get my phone." Riley replied quickly and lunged towards the stairs. Robert got up from the ground and threw Rhuben off of his back; she flew back and crashed into the opposite wall of the hallway, hitting her head. Quickly, Robert grabbed onto Riley's arm, leaving her teetering on the top step, eyes wide with fear.

She knew that if he let go she would go tumbling down the stairs, but trying to catch her balance would be bad too. Robert grinned and pulled her back into him, hitting her across the face, before pushing hard and shoving her down the stairs. Growling, Rhuben got up and jumped onto Robert's back, digging her hands into his face. Robert grunted and screamed in pain as he tried to pull her hands away, but her nails scratched his face. Robert thrashed around and backed up into the wall, causing her to loosen her grip. Finally, he moved forward and threw her off his back, sending her down the stairs too.

Riley, who was already getting back up from when she was thrown down, caught her sister. "You ok?" she asked breathlessly.

"I'm fine." Rhuben replied and the two scrambled to their feet as Robert bounded down the stairs, his hand gripped tightly around the brass knuckles. It was then that Rhuben noticed the imprint on Riley's cheek. "C'mon, we have to get to the phone."

The two got up and started to run towards the kitchen, Riley darted off towards the left to go through the living room, and Rhuben darted to the right to go through the den. Robert huffed angrily and looked off to the side, seeing a picture of the five of his kids with Ronan. He picked it up with a shaking hand and glared at it before punching the glass and tossing it to the ground. He looked left and right before deciding to follow Riley.

Rhuben leapt over the ottoman that was sitting in the living room and darted into the kitchen, reaching Riley's phone. She picked it up and saw that Logan was calling her and she answered it breathlessly.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Are you ok, Bella?" Logan asked, instantly recognizing the difference between his best friends' voices. "Why isn't Riley answering her phone?"

"She's a little distracted." Rhuben replied quickly. "Listen, Logie, I need you to-"she heard footsteps coming closer so she slapped her hand over her mouth and crouched down behind the island, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

"I know you're in here" Robert was saying quietly as he looked around. He smirked when he didn't see anything. "Come out; come out, wherever you are." Rhuben winced as she heard him strike something and things went crashing through the ground. She could hear Logan's voice through the phone, asking what that sound was and knew that if she could hear it, Robert could. So against her better judgment, Rhuben turned off the phone and slid it into her pocket as quietly as possible.

She sat there quietly, barely daring to breathe as she waited for Robert to find her. His footsteps seemed to fade away as he walked back towards the den, the direction that she came. Rhuben started to breathe a sigh of relief and started to lift herself to look up over the island.

"GOTCHA!"

Rhuben started to scramble up from the floor, but Robert jumped over the island and held her down in place as he started to punch her back with the brass knuckles. Rhuben screamed in pain as Robert laughed.

"HIYA!"

There was a clanging sound and Robert moved off of Rhuben, stumbling, as he held onto the back of his head. Groaning, Rhuben turned around to see Riley standing there, glaring fiercely and holding onto a frying pan as if it was a baseball bat.

Robert glared back at her and started to move towards her, but froze when he heard the sound of sirens getting closer. Riley looked towards the front door and when she looked back, her father was gone as if he was never there. Riley helped her sister to her feet and the two hurried towards the front of the house. Patrick, Noah, and Sydney raced down from upstairs and they all gathered together in a group hug.

The front door opened and police swarmed in, guns pointed up as they looked around. Logan came in after them, soaked with rain water.

"Oh my god, I'm glad you guys are ok." He said eyes wide with fright. "What happened?"

"What are you doing here?" Riley demanded.

"I was calling your phone when Rhuben picked up and it sounded like something was wrong." Logan replied breathlessly. "So I called the police and Ronan and headed over here."

"Does anyone else know?" Rhuben asked after a second of stunned silence from her siblings. Logan looked at her as if he didn't understand the question. "Kendall? James? Carlos? Mama Knight? _Do any of them know?_"

"No, I was by myself when I called you," Logan replied and Rhuben hurriedly brushed by him and went out the front door, looking for Ronan. Logan hurried after her. "Why would it matter if I told anyone else before I left? " Rhuben didn't answer him and continued to weave through cop cars, trying to see if Ronan was home. "What happened?" Again Rhuben ignored him. "It was your dad wasn't it?"

Rhuben turned back around, breathing heavily and glaring at him, not caring that she was getting soaked by rain water. "What?" she demanded, seeing the look on his face. "What do you want to say?" Logan hesitated and Rhuben glared harder. "You might as well say it, because I can almost see it in your head."

"Are you sure it was your dad?" Logan asked quietly.

"What the fuck?" Rhuben slapped herself on the forehead, her anger rising. Sure she didn't get mad as fast as her sister, but when she was mad she could easily get extremely pissed. The combination of her best friend asking her if she was telling the truth to the anger she felt about seeing her dad made for a dangerous combination. "Of _course_ I'm sure it was my dad!" she violently gestured towards the house ignoring the hurt look on Logan's face as she yelled at him. He was frustrated. "Ask Riley! Ask Patrick! _Ask any of them_." She was breathing really hard now. "I _saw_ him."

"Yeah, but before you said that you had seen him, the day that we got stuck in the mall," Logan was hurt that she was yelling at him but still wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on. "And I didn't see anything."

"I'm _not_ crazy, Logan." Rhuben growled as she clenched her hands into fists.

"I _never_ said you were." Logan replied as he grabbed onto Rhuben's shoulders and looked right into her eyes. "But I just want to help you. _I'm trying to help!"_

"Get away from me!" she wrenched herself out of her grasp and clapped her hands over her ears as she turned and walked a few paces away. "Leave me alone!" she wasn't sure if it was tears or rain that was falling down her cheeks. All she knew was that she was tired of being scared and tired of having to pretend that everything was ok.

"Bella!" Logan called after her, but she held her hands tighter over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut. "Bells! " She was definitely ignoring him and he knew only one way he could get her attention. He shouted. "RHUBEN!"

"SHUT UP!" Rhuben screamed back.

Logan growled and grabbed onto his head, frustration, confusion, and desperation causing him to feel helpless. Finally, he lowered his arms to the ground. "I can't do this anymore!" He was sure that Rhuben had heard him and knew he was right when Rhuben slowly lowered her hands.

"Do what?" she demanded as she turned her head, squinting through the rain.

"I can't…" he trailed off as he took a deep breath. "I _can't_ try and get you to listen to me." He replied as he walked towards her, eyes boring into her. "I can't try and get you to understand that we all care about you. I can't try and get you to know, to believe that not everybody in the world want to cause you pain and suffering." He placed his hands on her cheeks and he could feel her shaking.

"Then why do you keep trying?" she whispered.

"Because you're my best friend." Logan replied and smiled nervously. "And because I love you."

With that, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, the sound of police sirens fading as they kissed in the rain…

* * *

**A/N: I know what you guys are thinking, 'Finally, he told her that he loves her!' And I bet you're also thinking 'Riley was mean to Kendall, or, why didn't he just straight out ask her out on a date'. But don't worry; it's going to happen soon. ^-^ I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. The trial is coming up in two chapters.**

**-Riley**


	8. Big Time Confession

.:**Chapter Eight – Big Time Confessions:.**

**

* * *

**It was Friday.

The next day was the trial and the thought of that and what happened the day before was keeping the Jacksons on edge.

For now they refused to go to work, because they didn't want to see any of their friends and Ronan understood that and didn't make them go. At least, he wouldn't make them until the trial was over. He understood how embarrassed and scared they were and even contemplated not going to work himself, but he needed the money and he needed to act like an adult. So he tried to ignore every sympathetic look that he got and ever phone call from his family that asked about them. It wasn't really any of their business and they would find out everything as soon as the next day was over.

Everybody at the Palm Woods was worried, even Bitters, who didn't want to admit it. The girls constantly tried to go over to the Jacksons house, but they wouldn't answer the door, even though they were sure that they were home. The guys, Logan mostly, constantly called them, at first they started to answer, just to hear what they had to say, but wouldn't reply. Then eventually, as they continued to call they just shut off their phones. They sent e-mails too but those went unanswered, if it wasn't for them seeing Ronan every now and then at the studio they would have thought that he Jacksons moved away.

"Just give them time," Mrs. Knight stated as she set a platter of fish sticks and tater tots onto the table, the traditional Friday night dinner, blinking when no hand went shooting out to grab them. She sighed as she moved around to her seat at the table and sat down, looking at all of the sullen faces. "They're going through something that we can't begin to understand, so it's only normal that they're trying to stay away."

"But they're our friends, mom," Katie replied, looking as if she had just lost her best friend. "We can't just let them stay there by themselves feeling sorry for themselves." She threw her hands into the air. "I mean, the trial is _tomorrow_ where they even planning on telling us?"

"You're forgetting the fact that when we first met them that they didn't even want to tell us that they were abused," Logan replied a concentrated frown on his face as he poked at the food that was on the tray in front of him. "So realistically speaking they wouldn't want to talk about what's going on right now and revert back to the way it was before." He looked up at his friends. "By pretending that it never happened."

"But that's just stupid," James interrupted, sounding frustrated. He started to shake his head. "It's just…stupid." He looked up as Kendall lurched to his feet, pushing his chair back behind him. "Dude, what are you doing?"

"I'm going over there." He replied and used both hands to push his hair out of his face. "I don't care if they don't open the door, I'll stand on the front porch all night if I have to."

"Then we're coming too." Carlos stated as he grabbed onto his helmet and slipped it onto his head. "We're bringing the girls too, no doubt about that."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Mrs. Knight stated as she shook her head.

"Mom" Katie looked over at her brother and then turned back to her mother. "You and I both know that you're not going to talk them out of this, so you might as well just go along with it." She thought for a second. "Besides, maybe you can talk to Ronan; see if you can get anything out of him."

"Please, Mama Knight?" Logan stated, pleading evident in his voice. "We really want to know what's going on."

Mrs. Knight sighed heavily as she looked at her son, daughter, and their friends. It was obvious that they were all worried, she was too, don't get that wrong. But she also knew that it wasn't a good idea to try and force them into figuring out what was happening. Sometimes, to be a good friend, you had to sit back and wait for everything to finish. Now here she was trying to decide between two things that she knew was right. And she didn't have any idea of how to make a decision.

"Fine," Mrs. Knight replied finally. "But I still think that we should wait, but I can see that you guys aren't going to just sit still." She paused for a second as she looked at each of their faces, all holding a mixture of happiness and anxiety. "So, you go get the girls and I'll call for some cabs."

"Thanks mom." Kendall kissed his mother on the cheek before leaving the apartment as fast as he could, his friends following him. Mrs. Knight went over to the phone and took it off of the hook and dialed a number.

"Yes, can I get two three taxis sent over to the Palm Woods apartment building?" she spoke as soon as the other person picked up.

* * *

"You know that you're going to have to come out of there eventually." Ronan stated as he rested his head on the doorframe by Sydney's room. He was trying, once again, to coax the Jacksons out of their rooms so they could eat or just so he could actually talk to them instead of having to talking to them through wood.

"No I don't!" Sydney replied indignantly. "You saw what the newspapers said! They think that we're making it up. They think that we're crazy!"

"No one thinks you're crazy," Ronan replied and then rolled his eyes when Sydney replied with the ever witty 'uh-huh'. "Do your friends think you're crazy? No, they don't, they've been calling and texting and e-mailing you guys trying to figure out what's going on, but you won't answer them. And its seven o'clock at night and you guys need to talk to them before you go to the trial tomorrow."

"NO!"

"I don't know Rugby," Ronan turned and gave his attention to the St. Bernard that was sitting by the door to Riley's and Rhuben's room. "I don't think they're going to be coming out anytime soon." Rugby whimpered loudly and scratched at the door. "C'mon, Rugby."

Ronan sighed heavily as he got to his feet, not even bothering o go to the other rooms as he knew that he would get the same kind of response, if not more aggressive from Riley and Rhuben. So there was no point in even trying. Lightly rubbing his forehead, he walked back down the stairs to go into the kitchen, Rugby padding after him, but got distracted when he heard the doorbell ring.

"Probably some more of those annoying paparazzi," he muttered to himself as he went over to the door. "They _really_ don't know when to quit." He added as he stopped at the hall closet to pull out a golf club before going to the front door and pulling it open. "Listen, I already told you-" he stopped and put down the golf club, laughing nervously when he saw Big Time Rush, Katie, Jo, Camille, Stephanie, and Kacy standing on the front porch. "Hi guys."

"We came to talk to the Jacksons," Camille spoke up, starting to become overly dramatic. "They haven't answered our phone calls, texts, or e-mails," she started to pretend cry. "We don't know what's going on with them and-"

"Camille, cut it out with the theatrics," Ronan stated as he took a step back and motioned towards the stairs. "And try as hard as you like, but they're not going to come out of their rooms." He added as he waited for them to move through the door and closed it behind them.

"Have you tried setting off the fire alarm?" Kendall asked and then smiled when his mother looked over at him suspiciously. "I mean, I've heard of that working before. I even saw it in a movie." He corrected quickly.

"Right, I'm _sure_ that's what you meant." Katie rolled her eyes as she crackled her knuckles and smiled over at Ronan. "Don't worry, I can guarantee that they'll come out of their rooms." She stated. Ronan scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"And how are you sure about that" he questioned.

"Because if they're anything like normal kids, they like to eavesdrop," Katie replied and nodded up towards the banister that was at the top or the stairs. As Ronan and everybody else looked up, the Jacksons got up from their stomachs and ran back to their bedrooms, the sounds of their feet pounding the floor echoing down into the foyer. "See."

"Freeze!" Ronan shouted before they could even get to the bedroom doors. He walked halfway up the stairs and leaned over to see the Jacksons were standing where they were, a foot in the air. "This is getting ridiculous! Now your friends have come over here to talk to you and I'm not going to send them back home without getting an explanation from you!" he frowned. "Now stop acting like a bunch of babies and go downstairs!"

"You could have just asked nicely," Patrick stated as he raised an eyebrow before lowering his foot back to the ground. "No need to get all snappy."

"I know," Noah added as he pretended to look offended. "Nice is the only way to go."

Riley shook her head as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Why are you suddenly so snippy?" With that she led her siblings down the stairs and into the den, their friends following them. Ronan stood on the stairs with a dumbstruck look on his face. They had just played him like a fool and yet he couldn't help but find it amusing anyway.

"Well, that worked well." Ronan sighed as he shook his head, chuckling a little bit as he continued down the stairs. "Would you like some coffee?" he asked Kacy as soon as he reached the bottom. "I think you guys may be here a while.

"That'd be great," Mrs. Knight replied with a warm smile. "I need it after being around Kendall and his friends today. They've been down in the dumps." She added as she followed Ronan to the kitchen.

"Yeah, but it had to be better than here," Ronan replied. "It was quiet for the first time that I have ever known the kids, and it was too weird for them to be quiet."`

"So I'm guessing that you guys want to know why we didn't tell you about the trial." Patrick stated, wanting to start off the conversation as he knew that his friends felt a little bit awkward at not having seen or talked to them at all that day. He pushed his glasses up his nose and glanced at his siblings, who were squeezed with him onto the couch. "Well, to make a long story short, it's because we didn't want you to worry about it."

"You didn't want us to worry about it?" Stephanie repeated. "That was a little counterproductive because you wouldn't answer anything that we ever sent you."

"We were a little embarrassed about it too," Noah added, barely audible with his quiet voice. "I mean, it's still kind of hard to realize that we have friends that really care about us."

"So because of that, we tried to push you guys away and not let you know about the trial," Riley replied and then hesitated. "That's a lie, actually, because Logan knew." She rolled her eyes when his friends all turned and glared at him. "Before you get mad at him, we made him promise not to tell anyone."

"Besides, we aren't even sure whether or not we're going to be testifying anyway," Rhuben shrugged as she picked at the thread on the couch, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. "There's some evidence that we have for it, but the problem that we had problems dealing with the most is the outcome of the trial."

"What do you mean?" Jo whispered, looking incredulous. "Your dad's going to jail isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is." Riley shook her head. "There's no doubt about that."

"The only problem is how _long_ he's going to be in jail." Sydney replied and his mouth twitched. He looked over at Logan and knew that the smart boy already knew that answer to the statement. "The most that our dad is going to be in jail is about seven years tops."

"What?" James blurted out, eyes growing wide."

"That's just stupid." Stephanie added.

"We know." Riley stated simply as she laughed bitterly. "Trust me, we know. But every other abuse case that we have heard of, it pretty much ended up the same way because the perpetrator had been on his 'best behavior' while he was in jail and would get set free." She rolled her eyes.

"There's something else that we haven't told you," Patrick added, as if he had just thought about something, looking kind of sheepish. "Back home in Australia we publicly announced that we were abused and have done some PSAs. We were going to do it here, as the trial was going to be kept under wraps and by that time we didn't have to worry about it getting in the way, but after what happened…" he trailed off and cleared his throat. "We're going to publicly announce it tomorrow."

"It would help us if you guys were there to support us." Noah added.

"Of course we're going to be there," Kendall looked offended. "Even if you hadn't told us, we would have found out anyway and would have snuck in."

"Right." Rhuben nodded once. "Thanks guys, it means a lot." She let out a small breath. "We meant what we said before. We aren't really used to having friends, as our dad never really let us have them. So it's still a work in progress for us."

"But you can't expect us to tell you everything that we're going through." Sydney added with a frown of determination. "Sometimes we have to be left alone."

"I get it," Carlos agreed. "Like, sometimes I want to get away from these guys, just have some time by myself." He stated as he motioned to Kendall, James, and Logan. "We really should have respected your wishes and left you guys alone for a while."

"That's ok," Riley replied as she sunk low in her seat. "It just proves that you guys care about us." She paused. "Now that that warm and fuzzy feeling moment is over do you guys want to play a video game or something?"

"Really?" Jo raised her eyebrows. "You want to go from talking about a trial that you might have to testify to playing video games?"

"It's what we do best." Patrick replied with a shrug. "We have a pool table and a theatre room down in the basement along with our games if you don't want to play video games."

"Well, I think that you guys have thought long enough about what could happen," Camille stated as she leapt to her feet, an eager look on her face. The Jacksons cracked smiles, trying not to laugh. "And like us actors after a while you want to try and take your mind off of it."

"I thought that that would get you." Sydney smiled as he wiggled off of the couch and took Katie's hand. "C'mon, I want to show you the TV."

Riley smiled and ran her fingers through Sydney's hair as he passed by her and gently grabbed onto Kendall's arm before he could leave the room. "Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked.

"Sure." Kendall replied and backed up a few steps as Riley waited until everyone was out of the room before speaking.

"I wanted to…_apologize_" she flinched slightly at the word and nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "For being rude to you at the gym the other day." She replied. "That night I had to have a meeting with Linda bout the trial, and I guess I was kind of freaked out about it." She explained and looked at her feet. "Not that it's any excuse." She finally looked up at him. "Do you…" she trailed off and ran her fingers through her hair. "Do you think that we can hang out…after the trial?" she gave a nervous smile.

"You _do_ know that I was asking you out on a date, right?" Kendall asked as he furrowed his eyebrows together, trying to make sure. He knew that with Riley you had to be completely straightforward or she wouldn't take you seriously.

"Uh, yeah, I kind of got that." Riley replied as she raised an eyebrow. "For one thing, since I'm a girl I could tell." She stated as she placed her hands on her hips. "Plus the way that you were stammering and not really getting to the point tipped me off too." She smiled and then tilted her head to the side. "So are you ready to lose a game of pool?"

"You're on!"

* * *

"Rhu, can I talk to you?" Logan asked quietly as he stood behind her. She was sitting on the couch, watching Carlos, James, Patrick, and Noah shout and yell at each other as they played Mario Kart for the wii, using the wii steering wheels.

"I knew that was coming eventually," Rhuben sighed as she moved Sydney off of her lap and followed Logan to the laundry room that was connected to the basement. Sydney waited until the door closed before turning to Stephanie.

"Five bucks say that they get together tonight." He stated.

"You're on." Stephanie replied with a grin as she high-fived him.

Logan scratched his neck nervously as Rhuben pulled herself on top of the dryer, kicking her legs back and forth. She watched eyebrows raised as Logan tried to say something, so she decided to speak first. "Logan, before you go on a really long tangent that has a bunch of words that I don't understand, let me say something." She watched him for a second, making sure that he was going to follow her wishes before he spoke again. "We've been friends for a while and you know me better than I know myself." Logan nodded once. "But what you should know is that while we were apart from each other I've had some boyfriends." She stated and gauged his reaction, he was still listening patiently. "And to make a long story short they were all jerks."

"But you know me, Rhu," Logan finally spoke up. "You know that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

"I _do_ know that," Rhuben agreed calmly. "So all you have to do is do me a favor."

"What's that?" Logan asked as he raised his eyebrows.

"If we're going to do this…this dating thing," she replied. "Please don't rush me."

"I won't, I promise." Logan replied in a whisper causing Rhuben to smile a little bit. "You can trust me, Rhu."

"I know that, Logie," Rhuben brushed her hair off of her forehead and smiled. Logan smiled and held out his arms timidly. Rhuben rolled her eyes before jumping off of the dryer and stepping into Logan's arms, wrapping her own around his waist as she was shorter than him. "Thanks for being there for me." She muttered into his chest.

"No problem." Logan replied in a murmur, thinking about what the next day was going to bring. "No problem at all."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for this chapter to be put up. I was kind of busy yesterday. It's not my favorite and I may go back and re-edit it. Anyway, here's the chapter, kind of angsty but I needed it to explain everything that was going on, so it's shorter than my other chapters. Ok, from now on I'm going to make it that Mrs. Knight will be called Mrs. Knight when I type about her, but the adults will refer to her as Kacy. The next one has to do with the trials, and then it goes back to funny stuff with angst mixed in. Hope you guys like it. :)**

**-Riley**


	9. Big Time Trial

.:**Chapter Nine – Big Time Trial:.**

**

* * *

**"Hey, how're you feeling?" Stephanie asked as she opened the door to the courtroom and walked out, gently closing it behind her.

"Nervous." was the unanimous reply.

Stephanie gave a gentle smile before she sat down in between Riley and Rhuben on the bench that was outside of the courtroom. It was only a few minutes before the trial was going to start and the Jacksons were sitting outside of the courtroom, pacing back and forth in anticipation. Sydney was biting his nails, Noah was muttering to himself, Patrick was rubbing his arms even though it wasn't cold, and Riley and Rhuben were just looking at their hands.

"Where's Ronan?" Stephanie asked as she looked around. Wordlessly, Riley pointed down the hall, where Ronan was pacing back and forth, talking on a cell phone. Stephanie sighed as she brushed her hair out of her face. "Don't worry guys; this is all going to go well for you. And we're here for you too. We're going to be sitting in the row right behind you guys so you don't have to worry."

"Thanks Stephie." Sydney replied, giving a small smile. It faded almost instantly and he started to bite his nails again.

"Stop biting," Noah reached over and knocked Sydney's hand out of his mouth. "You'll bite them down to the cuticle and we don't need to wrap them up again." Sydney didn't say anything but did as he was told.

"Are any of your guys' legs shaking?" Patrick asked as he finally turned to face his siblings. "Because mine are shaking."

"You're just nervous." Stephanie laughed as she got up and gently platted his shoulder. "I promise. You guys are going to be fine." She slipped back into the courtroom.

"Hey guys," Julius called as he speed-walked over to his siblings. They jumped up and gave him big hugs as he tried to catch his breath. "I'm sorry I'm late, I got the earliest flight from Australia, but the traffic was horrible." He smiled apologetically. "I didn't miss anything did I?"

"No, you're right on time." Ronan stated as he closed his cell phone and walked back over, looking nervous himself. He took a deep breath before speaking again. "Ok guys, I think we should be getting in there." Ronan stated as he nervously messed with his tie. The Jacksons stared back at him shifting nervously. "Listen guys, even if this doesn't go the way we want it to, your father won't have custody of you anymore. And you won't have to worry about not being cared for, because you know that I care about you guys a lot, along with all of your friends."

"We know." Patrick murmured as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just a little embarrassing still." He took a deep breath and smiled. "But we know that everybody does care for us. Thank you."

"No problem." Ronan chuckled in reply, feeling a little embarrassed himself. "Come on."

"Right behind ya." Riley sighed in reply as she got up from the bench. Ronan brushed off his hands before grabbing onto the door handle and passing through them, the Jacksons following him, keeping their eyes straight ahead as they walked down the aisle, past the row of seats until they got to theirs.

"Don't worry guys; things are going to turn out just fine." Kendall whispered encouragingly. The Jacksons nodded but didn't say anything in reply. A hush fell over the crows and all the murmurs stopped when the bailiff walked into the courtroom.

"All rise!" the bailiff called in a loud commanding voice. Carlos flinched at his tone, now realizing the severity of the situation that the Jacksons were in, as he never believed that he would be in a courtroom. Stephanie noticed his flinch and grabbed onto her boyfriend's hand, squeezing it tightly. Carlos smiled and squeezed her hand back; smiling over at her, glad that she was there.

Ever audience stood up, the sound of chairs being pushed back by the jury ringing out through the room. They watched as the judge moved to the front of the court room from one of the secret doors at the front of the room. James, being able to see over a lot of people's heads as he was tall enough, could see Robert sitting at the other side of the room, clean shaven and looking as if he didn't have a care in the world. He frowned as he looked over at him, wondering how a man could be so cruel and act as if nothing was wrong.

"Judge Smith presiding" the bailiff continued, knocking James out of his reverie, causing him to briefly look around the room as he waited for the order to sit back down. Kendall, Logan, and Carlos were all staring straight ahead, faces stony. Jo, Camille, Katie, and Stephanie looked uncomfortable as any person should. Gustavo, Kelly, and Mrs. Knight were in the row behind them, looking straight ahead, looks of determination on their faces.

Well, Gustavo had a look of pure hate, an expression he always had whenever he was around Robert, the fact that he was a child abuse made him even more pissed off. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone.

"You may sit down" Judge Smith said as he climbed into his seat, not checking to see if everyone did as they were told. He sighed as he picked up a manila folder and started to look through the pages that were in them. "We're here for the case of Robert Jackson being accused of abusing his children" he turned to the Jackson. "Is your lawyer present?"

"Yes I am sir," a man in his mid-forties with brown, graying hair stood up and nodded. "Connor McDonald at your service sir."

"Then I think we should get this trial started." Judge Smith replied as he leaned back in his chair. "Robert Jackson, how do you plead?"

Robert stood up, making sure that he made a big show of straightening his tie and moving his arms behind his back as he tried to look innocent. "Not guilty your honor."

"Not guilty my arse." Riley muttered under her breath, clearly pissed off. Julius nudged her in the side and motioned for her to be quiet. Rhuben looked over at her sister but didn't say anything. She didn't need to. Her sister's outburst was what she had been thinking, but slightly toned down.

"My thoughts exactly." Camille muttered, hearing what Riley had said. Some of the audience had begun to murmur at his statement and Camille looked around. On her side of the room were people from the Palm Woods and from Rocque and Rolling Records, people that had gotten to know the Jacksons. There were some other people that she didn't know, but they could have been anyone, people that the Jacksons have worked with, or some of their family members, she didn't know. On the other side of the room seemed to be people who were either curious in the case or knew Robert. As some were nodding.

Judge Smith had stared long and hard at Robert after his statement but didn't say anything. Finally he turned to Mr. McDonald and waved and arm at him. "You may proceed."

"Thank you, your honor." Mr. McDonald cleared his throat as he stood up before turning to face Robert, who looked back at him calmly. "I'd like to call Robert Jackson to the stand." Robert stood up, and went over to the witness stand, swore in, and then got into the stand. "You said that you plead guilty, Mr. Jackson?" he stated quietly.

"Yes." Robert replied simply, staring at the man coolly.

"Are you saying that your children are lying?" Mr. McDonald demanded. "Because if you're pleading guilty, than it's almost like they were making up the abuse."

"I just think that they have an active imagination," Robert replied smoothly and laughed a little bit. "Especially Sydney. He's always so shy, but he's very creative." He added with a smile. Sydney made a whimpering sound when Robert looked over at him and he buried his face into Patrick's side. "See?" he added with a chuckle. "Really shy."

"So would you say that you have never…_disciplined _your children?" Mr. McDonald continued as his lip twitched.

"What parent hasn't disciplined their children?" Robert asked smoothly. "I may have spanked them every now and then but-"

"But with the older children," Mr. McDonald interrupted. "Julius, Rilandon, and Rhubella, how would you discipline them?" he inquired. Robert hesitated for a second, the smile frozen on his face. He took a breath before continuing.

"Well, Julius was never really a problem." Robert replied with a little chuckle. "It was Riley and Rhuben that typically got in trouble. They always seemed to want to defy me for one reason or another." He replied. "So I had to ground them every now and then, but being teenagers of course they didn't like that and tried to defy me even more." He paused. "I could never really understand why."

'_Because you're a bastard that doesn't deserve to be their father_' Kendall thought to himself, clenching his jaw in anger. '_I can't believe that you can sit up there and act like you loved them to death when all you did was cause them pain and suffering._'

Katie grabbed onto her brother's hand and held onto it tightly. Kendall smiled softly as he looked over at her and realized how lucky he was. His father had decided to leave them, instead of staying and punishing them mercilessly, like the Jacksons. He felt bad for them but he couldn't help but feel a little bit happy that he wasn't the one that was going on trial. As guilty as a thought like that was. Kendall looked up again as the trial continued.

"Right, you never could understand why." Mr. McDonald continued as he sneered. "So what you're saying is-"

"Objection your honor!" Ms. Davenport, Robert's lawyer snapped as she stood up. "I believe that he has already answers the question."

"Sustained!" The Judge replied and then Mr. McDonald let out a huff before turning away.

"No further questions," he replied and then turned back around. "But I _would _like to call up another witness." He waited for the judge's approval before turning to look into the audience. "I would like to call Dr. Hamilton to the stand." Logan looked around, eyebrows furrowing together when he saw a balding man get up and walk over to the witness stand. He swore in and sat down, folding his hands patiently. "Dr. Hamilton, you've been treating the Jacksons since they came to LA haven't you?"

"Yes I have." He replied with a warm smile.

"And how many times would you say that they had gone to your office in the first year they were here?" Mr. McDonald questioned.

"Only once or twice," Dr. Hamilton replied as he raised his eyebrows. "When they first moved here there was a lot of stuff in the media about it, since they were a famous band from Australia coming to try and make it in the United States so that would bring a lot of attention." He explained. "When they first moved here they came for a simple checkup and I could see that a few of them had a couple of bruises. And when asked they said that they were clumsy or had fallen down. But after that they didn't come in much, not even to get a physical which most schools would need."

"Interesting." Mr. McDonald replied and then backed away. "No further questions." It was then that the court room had turned over to Ms. Davenport's side.

"I'd like to call Ronan McGuire to the stand." Ms. Davenport stated as she moved her arms behind her back and looked over at Ronan. Ronan sighed before getting up and going over to the witness stand. "Mr. McGuire, how long have you been working for the Jacksons?" she paused. "You've been working with them specifically and not any other band and I correct?"

"Yes, you are correct." Ronan replied. "I've been working with the Jacksons since they moved to California. I decided to stay working with them because they were so young and so talented that I knew that they were going to go far, and with my help I thought that they would get really big."

"Right," Ms. Davenport replied flatly. "So, what would you say they acted like? Did they ever act out for attention?"

"No, not really-"

"Did you ever thinking that they were abused?" Ms. Davenport interrupted, not giving him a chance to respond. "Had they ever shown signs?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then why didn't you do anything about it? Why did you just sit back and continue to let it happen _if_ it did happen?" She smiled a little bit. "Because if it did and you just sat there and let it happen then you're partly to blame."

"Oh will you _shut up_?" Patrick demanded, not being able to hold in his outburst anymore. The Judge took his gavel and slapped it against the table top, and raised his eyebrows, warning him to be silent. "Sorry." Patrick sulked as he sat back down, causing Katie to giggle, despite the circumstances. "At least give him a chance to answer."

"I had my suspicions that they were being abused, yes," Ronan replied through clenched teeth, already annoyed of the lady interrupting him. "And whenever I asked them about it they claimed that there was nothing going wrong, which is _proof_ that they were being controlled by their father and-"

"No further questions for him." Ms. Davenport replied much to Ronan's annoyance as he got down from the witness stand.

"Geez, she needs to pull that stick out of her butt." Rhuben muttered to herself, causing her siblings to burst out laughing. They were instantly silenced by the judge's looking over at them, causing the audience to laugh, albeit a little nervously.

"I'd like to call Noah Jackson up to the stand." Ms. Davenport stated after staring at the Jackson siblings for a moment. Noah gulped before going up to the witness stand. "Noah, how much would you say that your father has done for you?"

"I…I don't understand what you mean." Noah's voice was barely audible as his nervousness was making his voice softer.

"How long has he cared for you?" Ms. Davenport replied patiently. "Put a roof over your head, made you dinner, bought you clothes?"

"For about eight years," Noah replied quietly as he messed with the bottom of his shirt. "Since he adopted us."

"So why would you go and accuse him of abusing you?" Ms. Davenport demanded. Noah blinked slowly and tilted his head to the side.

"Because it's true." Noah replied quietly, as if she was stupid. Ms. Davenport gave a slow nod before taking a breath and asking another question.

"So, if it's true, how come you don't have any proof?" she demanded as she raised an eyebrow. Noah's face suddenly turned red at the cheeks, a good hint to his siblings that he was starting to get mad.

"Don't have proof?" he spat in reply, eyes narrowing. "You're going to stand there in that ridiculously old-fashioned pantsuit, with your bare face hanging out and ask if I have any _proof_."

"Whoa, go Noah!" Katie declared, eyebrows raised in amusement.

"What do you call this scar on my arm that's from a knife?" Noah demanded as he pushed up a shirt sleeve. "Or this cigarette burn on the inside of my wrist from the time I was too slow in getting him a beer," he motioned to a small dot on the inside of his left arm. "Or the psychological damage? Sydney is eight years old but he acts like a five year old because of the abuse that we went through. It's hard for us to make friends and when we don't trust a lot of people. And it's all because of our dad's abuse and the fact that he wanted to keep it a secret."

"If this is true, then why didn't you ever tell anyone?" Ms. Davenport continued. "Because it seems to me that you're just trying to get your father in trouble for no reason."

"The only reason that we didn't tell anyone is because we didn't want to be split up." Noah hissed in reply, breathing heavily. "I care more about my family being together. But Ri-Ri and Rhu-Rhu care about our safety more than anything else, because they would take most of the beatings so we wouldn't be hurt."

"So where were you this whole time?" Ms. Davenport asked as she turned to face Julius. He looked back at her coolly.

"I'm not on trial here." Julius replied. Ms. Davenport snapped and pointed a finger towards Noah, who glared and got down from the witness stand. Ms. Davenport turned and smiled at Julius, who glared in reply. "What do you want to know?"

"Where have you been for the past few years?"

"Working at college so I could get my schooling done so I could help my brothers and sisters." Julius replied through clenched teeth.

"Are you sure that you just weren't running away and trying to save yourself?"

"Unbelievable," Kendall muttered as he shook his head. He clenched his teeth together in anger and tried to keep himself from butting in, but as the woman continued talking, he knew that there was no way that he would be able to keep quiet. "Would you _listen_ to yourself?" Kendall demanded as he leapt to his feet, not being able to stay quiet anymore. This woman was pissing him off and he couldn't let her get away with it. "Instead of being an attorney be a normal human being and realize that the Jacksons, my friends are telling the truth!"

"Yeah," Logan stood up on Kendall's other side. "When we first met them we immediately knew that there was something wrong with them. Especially by the way that they were acting."

"And because we cared about them so much," James chimed in. "We wanted to find out what was going on." He looked down and Jo and smiled a little bit, causing her to smile back. "So we didn't stop asking them what was going on. Sure they got mad at us, but we didn't stop."

"So Logan went to the library to check up on their attitudes," Carlos added as he stood up along with his friends. "The way that they were acting and the way that they reacted to things, because we recognized that it wasn't normal. And he found out that they were showing many cases of child abuse."

"So finally, we decided to call the police to get them away from him," Kendall spoke up again. "And because of us and the fact that we cared about them so much, they're finally happy and away from the man that you're defending."

"ORDER IN THE COURT!" Judge Smith shouted, getting everyone's attention and stopping the outburst. Gustavo smiled and nodded, proud that the boys were sticking up for what they believed in. He agreed with them a hundred percent. "If there's another outburst I'm going to have to call a recess!" When he got everyone's attention he finally sighed and fell silent. "I've heard a lot of things today and before I can turn it over to the jury, I need to ask…is there any more evidence that can be shown to sway the case?"

Riley slowly raised her hand, trembling under the gaze of the judge. "We…" she trailed off for a second, looking over at her siblings, as if uncertain. It was the first time that anyone had ever seen her hesitate about something because she typically just shouted out whatever she was thinking and not cared about what anyone thought. They nodded in reply and she continued. "We have a tape…from a hidden camera, of our dad…abusing us." She said and took a disc from Sydney and walked over to the judge, holding it out. He took it and looked at it before looking back at her. "We'd really appreciate it if you would take a look at it.

"Alright," Judge Smith replied and turned to the Bailiff. "I'm going to need a TV and a DVD player." The bailiff nodded in reply and left the courtroom. As soon as he left the murmuring in the audience got louder and louder, ignoring the judge as he tried to get them to settle down.

"You have a tape?" Logan whispered as he leaned forward to talk to Rhuben. She barely turned her head, but spoke loud enough for Logan to hear.

"Yeah," she muttered in reply. "We had it made a while ago, and we were hoping that we would never have to use it," she tilted her head back down so her gaze was facing her lap. "I just wish that this was over."

"Don't worry, Bells." Logan placed a hand on her shoulder. "This is all going to be over soon."

"I hope with this video the guy can finally get put away." Gustavo muttered over to Kelly and Mrs. Knight. "I mean, I thought that this guy was a jerk at the beginning, but going this far…jerk is too nice of a word."

"I know that you mean," Mrs. Knight agreed. "I remember when my husband left us, I was sort of glad. And just with this happening, I'm even happier that he didn't just decide to stick around and use us as his personal punching bags."

"But now we know that they're going to get a better life soon." Kelly added and then brought up another point. "They're going to have a lot more fans now that after the trial is over they're going to publicly announce that they've been abused for the longest time." She put a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry that really sounded as if I cared about their music career more than them."

"But they _are_ their music career." Gustavo pointed out. "The only reason they continued with the abuse so they could stay together and so their band could keep going. They cared about each other and their music more than they cared about their safety."

"Kendall," Katie whispered as she nudged her brother's side. "What's going to happen now?" Kendall hesitated for a second, not even sure himself.

"I'm guessing that we're going to see the video that they made and then he's going to be prosecuted." He replied. Just as he said that, the bailiff walked back out of the backroom, pushing a cart with the TV and DVD player. Everybody fell silent as he set up everything and put the DVD into the player.

Julius closed his eyes and resisted the urge to put his hands over his ears, hating to see how badly hurt his siblings had gotten hurt over the years that he was gone. He could tell by the audience reaction that they were horrified with what was happening. The audience gasped and cried as images of the Jacksons with black eyes, broken bones, bloodied arms and legs, and images of them being beaten, or sitting behind a couch or in a closet, came on screen. During the whole video, the Jacksons had their heads bent down, and kept their gazes on their laps, as if they were ashamed. Tears started to fall down Sydney's cheeks.

'_Please let it be over_' Patrick thought to himself as he bit his lower lip tightly. '_Please, please, please_ _let this be over soon_.' He lifted his hand and was shocked to feel that he was crying too. He sniffled loudly and wiped off his cheeks as the video ended.

The bailiff turned off the TV and there was silence throughout the courtroom. "The jury is now going to go out and decide the verdict of this case." The judge stated grimly, breaking the silence, as the ten members got up and walked out of the room.

They weren't even gone for three minutes before they came back with the answer; they handed over the sheet of paper to the head of the jury. The man cleared his throat before speaking. "Mr. Jackson…and his children…could you please stand as the verdict is read?"

The Jacksons and Ronan all stood up, eyes trained on the jury, refusing to look at or even acknowledge that Robert was in the room, standing along with them. Julius looked down at Riley before smiling gently and grabbing onto her right hand. Riley looked up at him and smiled back before grabbing onto Rhuben's hand. Rhuben grabbed onto Sydney's, Sydney grabbed onto Noah's, and Noah grabbed onto Patrick's as they waited for the verdict.

"Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles," he started to read out loud, causing everybody in the audience to hold their breath. "In the matter of the people of California against Robert Jackson case number C209876 of numerous counts of physical and mental abuse against his children, along with neglect and reckless endangerment, we the jury, and the above entitled action find the defendant, Robert Jackson, guilty of all charges."

"YES!" Sydney shouted punching the air with his fists as the courtroom burst into cheers. Ronan beamed as Julius, Riley, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney came together in a group hug, laughing with happiness and crying at the same time.

"Robert Jackson will serve a maximum of six years in the California State Prison and have to pay a fine of 6000 dollars per child, thus making it 36 years in prison and 36,000 dollar fine." Judge Smith slapped his gavel against the top of his podium. "Court is adjourned."

The courtroom erupted into cheers as Robert was handcuffed and taken away by the bailiff. Gustavo, Kelly, Mrs. Knight, Camille, Jo, Stephanie, Katie, Kendall, Logan, James, and Carlos gathered around the Jacksons to celebrate with them.

"Congratulations, guys." Katie hugged the Jacksons, beaming happily.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe that just happened!" Rhuben grinned before Logan grabbed her and hugged her tightly before doing so with the others.

"I know. I can't believe it either." Riley agreed, laughing as James mused her hair.

"Well, it did and we're all happy for you guys." James stated before hugging her tightly. Kendall smiled and gave her a hug.

"You still on for hanging out?" he asked with a grin. Riley pretended to think about it, laughing as Patrick and Noah tossed Sydney up into the air over and over again.

"I don't know, I _may_ have to pencil you in," she replied with a teasing smile. "I mean, after we're done celebrating and all."

"Speaking of which, I think it's time for us to make that announcement," Ronan added as he motioned over to the cameramen and newscasters that were at the back of the court room. "C'mon."

Happily, the Jacksons walked over to the newscasters and started to tell their story about their abuse to the world. Letting people know that they were normal people that dealt with things that other people dealt with and that they just weren't a famous band. They gave the signs of someone having abuse so more people could get help, and they gave the advice that even if the person who is abused denies it, they most likely are just embarrassed with what was going on. They finished the interview with giant smiles on their faces.

_It was finally over_.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, so I don't really know how court rooms work, so you're going to have to bear with me on this chapter. I don't know if it's a lawyer or an attorney that you need in a courtroom and I don't really know the difference between the two. But I hope you guys liked it anyway. The next chapters bring back the humor with angst mixed in with it. :)**

**Oh and like Rhu said ****Logan and Kendall replied to more of our tweets and during Erin Sanders's ustream live chat yesterday, she, Stephen Glickman, Logan, and Kendall answered our questions and Erin gave us a shout out.**

**-Riley**


	10. Big Time Hanging Out

.:**Chapter Ten – Big Time Hanging Out:.**

**

* * *

**"So, who wants to go to the beach?" Riley questioned as they left the courthouse. She skipped to the last step and did a cartwheel. "We haven't been to the beach in forever, let's go!" she turned around to face her friends as she brushed her hair behind her ears, a large grin on her face.

"Yeah let's go." Patrick agreed as he used his shoulder to brush his hair out of his face. "I haven't hit the water in so long."

"Sandcastle!" Sydney declared as he bounced down the steps. "I want to make a sandcastle!" he jumped up and grabbed onto Patrick's shoulders, hoisting himself up his back until he was sitting on Patrick's shoulders, his hands tightly held onto his head.

"We haven't Wake boarded in a while either." Rhuben added as she nudged Noah's shoulder with her own. "It'll be good to get the boat out again." Noah thought about it for a second and then smiled and nodded.

Their friends couldn't help but smile too, it was contagious. Then again, you couldn't be happier than if you just found out that all of the pain and suffering that you had to deal with for the past eight years was finally gone and you didn't have to worry about him anymore. Now it was time for them to have fun, and because they had the whole day off due to the court case that morning, what better way than to celebrate their win by having fun.

"The beach is a good idea," Carlos agreed, laughing as Patrick spun in a circle, causing Sydney to cry out and tightly clamp onto his forehead. "We haven't been to the beach yet and it's our day off."

"Ooh, the beach!" Gustavo declared loudly. "I haven't been to the beach in a while!"

"That's because it's not a pretty picture," Kelly reminded him gently. "And because you always got too into the fun that you had that you caused many kids to cry when you ran off with the ice cream kart."

"Kids don't need ice cream." Gustavo replied as he rolled his eyes.

"The beach it is." Julius declared, making the decision for everyone. "How about we go back to get our suits and stuff and we meet each other at the Palm Woods." He turned to their friends. "You can follow us there."

"Good plan." Kendall replied and then turned and started to walk away with his friends, talking excitedly about going to the beach and Ronan went to call the girls a cab back to the Palm Woods. "This is going to be the best day ever, guys!" he declared as he punched the sky. "A day off, the Jacksons are happy, and now we're going to the beach!"

"Yeah, it's another place that I can sucker some of the dumber people of LA." Katie agreed as she laughed evilly, thinking of using her snow cone cart at the beach. It had worked when she made it at the Palm Woods, it would definitely work at the beach as there were more people there."

"As long as you don't go causing a public disturbance its fine," Mrs. Knight replied as she laughed a little bit. "I'm just going to sit back and pretend like I don't have any kids."

"Thanks mom," Kendall and Katie replied as they rolled their yes.

"Do you know how many girls are at the beach?" James grinned as he rubbed his hands together. "A lot of new people to see 'the face'" he said and did that stupid little movement he always did whenever he mentioned the face.

"What about Jo?" Logan asked and then snorted when he saw the confused look on James's face. "Oh come on," he started to count off on his fingers. "You two have kissed and you've been on like two dates already."

"No, those weren't dates," James replied as he waved his hand in Logan's face, causing him to make a face and slap James' hand away. "I didn't pay for the food that we ate."

"You didn't pay for the food?" Katie, Kendall, Carlos, Logan, and even Mrs. Knight shouted in unison, causing the tall boy to jump.

"Are you really that stupid?" Kendall demanded as he whacked James upside the head. "When you're on a date the guy _always_ pays." He threw his arms in the air. "That's kind of the point of being in a relationship. The guy pays for all of the food and the girls make the guy a sandwich."

"Not unless they beat you for asking." Katie replied as she raised her eyebrows. "But let's not worry about that, we're going to the beach, dudes."

The four boys screamed and hollered their approval as they all crammed into Mrs. Knight's car and went back to the Palm Woods. They hurried up to their apartment and quickly got dressed, grabbing towels, goggles, and extra clothes before going back to the lobby to wait for The Jacksons.

"So this if our first beach trip," Stephanie was saying as he, Camille, and Jo walked over to the four boys, Katie, and Mrs. Knight her video camera up to her eye. "What are the thoughts of that so far?" she panned the camera around and grinned as each person let out 'whoo's of delight, giggling when Carlos got his face really close to the camera for extra measure.

"Wow, you look hot!" Carlos stated when he got a good look at what she was wearing. (Ever the charmer.) Stephanie laughed in reply as she put her camera back into her camera bag, used to getting that compliment form him. She was wearing black tank-top the straps of her light blue bikini visible against the straps of the tank-top and a floral print sarong. Camille and Jo were wearing the same thing, but Camille's bikini was pink and Jo's was a light green.

"Thanks Carlos," Stephanie grabbed onto his hand and rested her head on his shoulder. She gently poked him in the chest. "I'm sure that you look hot too," her grin grew wider. "I'll let you know when you take your shirt off."

"If we could stop with the lovey-dovey couple hour," Kendall declared as he put his hands over his ears. Carlos and Stephanie laughed along with the others as since they had started dating they were used to getting compliments about being a good couple, and being teased about being too lovey around each other. But they liked each other, so sue them.

"You're just jealous that you don't have someone as hot as Stephanie." Carlos declared as he stuck his tongue out at his friend as he hugged Stephanie to him protectively, causing everyone else to laugh.

"That depends," Camille replied with a chuckle. "If you think that Riley is ugly." Kendall blushed a little bit as everybody turned to stare at him, funny smiles on their faces. "Don't look so surprised, Riley told me that you guys are going to go out on a date." She punched his shoulder. "Way to go, maybe you can make the beach your date."

"Yeah, maybe." Kendall replied as he looked at his feet in embarrassment.

"Way to go, bro." Katie smiled teasingly. "I'm so proud of you."

"You're dating Riley?" Mrs. Knight turned to look at her son with wide eyes. Kendall tried to stammer and answer, but was crushed in a hug by his mother. "Oh my little baby is growing up! And she's such a nice girl; you should invite her over so I can get to know her better because I never really got to talk to her by myself. Oh and your grandparents and aunts and uncles would want a picture-"

"Mom, please no!" Kendall cried in embarrassment. "We're not really dating yet!" he tried to get his mother's attention, but to no avail. "Mom, we're not official or anything. Mom!"

"Wow, I'm glad my mom isn't here or she'd embarrass Rhuben to death," Logan chuckled and quickly slapped a hand over his mouth as everyone's attention turned to him instead of Kendall. "What?" he asked taking a step back.

"Dude," James threw an arm around Logan's' neck and started to give him a noogie. "You and Rhuben? When did that happen? Not like we all weren't able to see it coming."

"The only thing I'm worried about," Logan pushed James' arm off of his neck and gently massaged it. "Is how you feel about it, Camille." He replied as he turned to the method actress. "I mean, I know that you had liked me-"

"And like with every girl who realizes that Edward Cullen isn't real and that they're never going get a chance with him," Camille raised a hand to get him to stop talking and smiled sweetly. "I've moved on. Besides, you two are perfect for each other, you were best friends first and that relationship usually works."

"Can we _please_ stop talking about relationships?" Katie moaned as she rolled her eyes.

"Why," Kendall grinned evilly as he pulled away from his mother's grasp. "Are you still having trouble deciding between Patrick and Noah?" he laughed as Mrs. Knight turned her attention to her daughter, giving Kendall time to breathe.

"You're so evil, Kendall." Jo shook her head as she laughed, watching as Kendall's little sister tried to get her mother to stop.

"I try." Kendall replied as he tapped himself on the chest with pride.

"Hey guys, they're here." Stephanie stated as she pulled away from Carlos long enough to grab her bag before grabbing onto Carlos's hand again. She laughed as he skipped towards the cars that were sitting by the front of the Palm Woods.

"We decided to drive you all there ourselves," Julius called as he rolled down the passenger window of his gold minivan. "Gustavo and Kelly will meet us there!" As he said that he unlocked the doors of his car, Ronan unlocked the doors of Rhuben's car, and Riley unlocked the doors of her car. "Choose whoever you want to ride with."

Before anyone could move, Camille, Jo, and Stephanie jumped into the back of Riley's car causing Riley and Rhuben, who were in the front seats, to start laughing. Katie hurried over to Rhuben's car, which Ronan was driving, and jumped into the backseat beside Patrick and Noah. Sydney was sitting in the front seat of Julius' car, making faces in the side-view mirror. Mrs. Knight got into the passenger seat of Ronan's car and the guys got into the back of the minivan.

"Syd, move to the backseat." Julius instructed and then chuckled when Sydney turned to his oldest brother with a pout on his face. "I just want to give Logan a chance to drive."

"Do you want to be twenty five by the time we get there?" James asked, brushing his hair out of his face as Julius got out of the driver's seat, holding onto a set of car keys. Logan hesitated, watching s they dangled in his face. "He drives so slowly."

"Well excuse me for wanting to be safe." Logan snapped back in reply.

"We're in LA," Sydney snorted. "Everybody has massive case of road rage, just be glad you're not driving with Ri-Ri." He replied as he pointed to the car. He smiled sweetly when Riley leaned out of the driver's window, letting him know that she heard what he said by yelling it.

"If you want to get your license and be able to drive around LA," Julius slapped the keys into Logan's hand and smiled suspiciously. "Or take my sister out on a date, I suggest that you go and get some practice."

"How did you-"

"In my family we don't keep secrets from each other," Julius replied with a sigh as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "So don't be surprised if your name ever comes up in a lot of conversations." He grinned and slapped Logan on the back. "What are you waiting for? We all want to go to the beach!"

"Fine," Logan replied as he moved around to get in on the driver's side. "But if any of your car gets dented, it's not my fault."

"Right, it's the car behind us that's going _entirely _too fast." Kendall replied sarcastically, still trying to annoy his friend. Logan turned around and glared at his friends, causing them to laugh at him as he closed the car door and put the keys in the ignition.

"I'll give you the directions," Julius stated as he pulled his seat belt across his chest. "But everything else is up to you." He leaned around the side of his chair to make sure that Sydney was buckling himself up. Sydney gave a thumbs up in reply and then held up one finger, then four, then three. Julius smiled and did the same, causing Sydney's smile to grow wider.

"How old are you?" Logan suddenly questioned as he gripped onto the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white. Carlos, James, and Kendall continued to laugh a little bit, knowing that Logan was really nervous about driving. He was really bad about it in Minnesota, especially with all of the snow and slush around, so here in LA where there were a lot more cars, he would probably be a nervous wreck.

"I'm almost nineteen," Julius replied smoothly, the smirk on his face growing when Logan let out a squeak of fear and let go of the steering wheel. "Yeah, I know I'm not 21 or older."

"Then why are you letting me drive?" Logan shrieked, eyes growing wide.

"Live a little, Logie!" Carlos declared as he hit the back of Logan's seat. "You'll probably never get this chance ever again. If I had my permit, I'd be taking this opportunity."

"If you had your permit you'd probably drive us into a ditch trying to see a colorful butterfly." James replied as he rolled his eyes. He leaned forward and looked into the rearview mirror to check his hair. Kendall looked over at Carlos, who was whistling shrilly.

"Ok, so I did that once!" he replied as he held his hands up defensively. "But you have to admit, it was fun driving that golf kart into the lake."

"Yeah, before we had to pay for it." Kendall replied.

"Logan," Julius stated patiently. "We have to get going and I can already see the annoyed look on Riley's face through the rear-view mirror." He stated and motioned to the mirror before laughing. "If James' head wasn't in the way." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I've done this for Riley and Rhuben and they're only three years younger than me. Usually, no one gets caught, and if they do, just blame it on me, it's cool."

"I don't know…" Logan looked like he was actually contemplating the idea. Sydney kicked his feet back and forth as he tried to wiggle to the edge of the seat. "I mean, getting a record when I'm this young. And it'll come back to haunt me when I try to become a doctor-"

"Girls always love the bad boy." Sydney stated as he leaned over Logan's shoulder. "And just think what Rhu-Rhu will think of you." He grinned at Julius and Kendall looked at the two of them, almost laughing out loud when he saw how similar the two of them looked. If Sydney was Julius' age, he would have thought that they were twins. It just proves that twins definitely do run through the Jacksons' family. "She won't think of you as that math nerd she knows from seven years ago. She'll think of you as someone who takes risks and laughs in the face of danger."

"Alright, alright!" Logan stuck the keys in the ignition and turned on the car as Sydney laughed in triumph and sat back in his seat.

"Hey," Carlos leaned over to whisper to Sydney, making sure that Logan couldn't hear him. "Did you really mean that? Is your sister usually impressed with the bad boy?"

"No," Sydney snorted as he rolled his big blue eyes. "I just said that so Logan wouldn't think that he has to follow the rules for the rest of his life." He grinned and tapped his forehead. "Plus I used a lot of reverse psychology without him even really knowing it."

Julius smiled and shook his head, remembering how smart Sydney could be, and leaned back in his chair as Logan cautiously pulled away from the Palm Woods. Julius instructed the younger teenage boy where to go and resisted the urge to yell at him to go faster. Riley had passed by him, sticking out her tongue laughing hysterically as Rhuben waved, and Ronan passed by on the other side, making a motion that he wanted to race to the beach.

"Logan, I have a question for you" Julius stated slyly.

"What's what?" Logan asked as he kept his eyes on the road, not looking over at the older teenager, just in case he lost control of the car.

"Besides what you're doing right now, have you ever broken the law," Julius pretended to be thinking about something. "Like, say, the speed limit?"

"No!" Logan shook his head frantically. "Definitely not. I'm a good kid, ask my mom and dad. I don't talk back, I get good grades, I study really hard, I make sure I get exact change and then tell the cashier if they gave me too much."

"In other words you're a goody two shoes." Julius replied dryly. "That's fine, I used to be the same way." He shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair. "But then I realized that sometimes I have to live life on the edge." He let out a sigh. "After I stopped my solo career, I realized that my life wasn't nearly as interesting as it was before. So that's why I started to work on my school work and help my brothers and sisters with their band. And as I was doing that I had to grow up, and leave them behind to stay at the hands of my dad. And because of that I felt guilty and started to act out a lot differently than I meant to." He took a breath and continued.

"I got into a bit of trouble every now and then, but realized that if I kept doing what I was doing then I wouldn't be able to help my family at all. So I decided to just break a small rule every now and then, to get an adrenaline rush and to act like a normal teenager."

"…What do you want me to do?" Logan asked, re-gripping the steering wheel, letting out a deep breath. James, Kendall, and Carlos perked up al little bit, wondering if their friend was actually going to act like a different person.

"You see that signal that Ronan is giving you?" Julius asked as he pointed out the passenger window. Logan leaned forward to get a quick glimpse and moved back. But he had seen Ronan spinning his index finger in the air.

"Yeah," he replied. "So?"

"YAY! A RACE!" Sydney shouted, waving his hands in the air.

"That's our family's sign that we want to race to be the first ones to get to our destination," Julius replied with a charming smile. "And that means that going one or two miles per hour over the speed limit max, we race to get to the beach. And how you do that is as fast as you can drive, you change different lanes and try to get through lights to see who can get there faster. It's a lot of fun."

Logan slowed down the car when they reached a light. He looked to his left and saw Riley lean forward and give the same sign that Ronan was. Logan took a deep breath and looked over to the right to see that Ronan was nodding. He looked to the left again and Riley was nodding. In the passenger seat, Rhuben turned to look at Logan, not smiling or frowning, just staring, to see what he would do. Logan stared back, swallowed thickly, and then nodded. Rhuben broke out into a smile and started to slap her sister on the shoulder, saying something, as Jo, Camille, and Stephanie broke out into cheers that were audible through the cars.

Logan kept his eyes straight ahead, waiting for the light to turn green. When it finally did, he shifted out of park and quickly pressed his foot down on the accelerator, the car shooting forward. Kendall, James, and Carlos hooted and cheered loudly as Logan quickly pulled ahead, shifted into another lane under Julius' suggestion, and continued to keep his foot pressed down on the accelerator.

"Go, Logan go!" Sydney was cheering. Kendall, James, and Carlos were cheering and shouting things as they looked out the window to see if the girls or Ronan were catching up.

But Julius had his head thrown back and was laughing loudly. It was either due to the fact that the realization that his father was gone had finally hit him, or that he was just having that much fun. Secretly, Logan guessed it was a bit of both.

And oddly enough, he was having fun with it too.

* * *

"I can't believe you guys beat us here," Riley groaned as she pulled a surfboard off the top of her car, careful not to scratch the board. She smiled as Kendall took the surfboard from her and gently set it onto the ground. "Thanks Hockey-Head."

This time, Kendall didn't seem to mind the nickname. "No problem." He replied cheerfully.

"Julius didn't bother you did he?" Riley asked as he brushed her hair behind her ear before sliding sunglasses down over her face. "Because he can act like a real butthead sometimes."

"Nah, he was actually pretty cool." Kendall replied with a warm smile as he handed Riley her bag. "A lot cooler than most older brothers would be, I mean, he let you guys drive without having someone in the car that was 21 or older? I wouldn't even do that for my sister."

"That wasn't the whole reason," Rhuben stated as she walked around from the other side of the car, pulling her hair up into pigtails. "It was because our dad needed us to drive as soon as possible so he made Julius take us out a lot." She turned to Logan and patted him on the arm. "Speaking of which, I didn't think you would have the guys to take on our little race challenge."

"Yeah, well," Logan smiled a little bit, although he was blushing really hard. "I'm not the same nerdy kid you used to know."

"Yeah, seven years can change a person." She replied with a smile. Logan smiled back and hesitantly held out his free hand. He looked the other way, his face turning as red as possible. "Logie," she got his attention. "We were friends before we started dating," she pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "So you don't have to worry about not being good enough for me." She tilted her head to the side. "Or not believing that I chose you to date over anyone else."

"How could you tell I was thinking that?" Logan asked as he turned back to her with a smile.

"_I _could tell you were thinking that," Riley chimed in as she rolled her eyes. "You're extremely easy to read and we've known you for so long it's easy to tell."

"What are we standing around here gabbing for?" Katie demanded as she slid sunglasses over her eyes. "Let's have some fun!"

"WHOO BEACH!"' Everybody turned around to see Kelly and Gustavo walking over to them. Kelly was hiding her face with a beach towel and an umbrella, probably embarrassed at how excited Gustavo was to be at the beach. "Ahh, look at those waves."

"Do you surf, Gustavo?" Patrick asked as he carefully took his surfboard and Noah's wakeboard off of the top of Riley's car.

"No, but its fun to push people down in the water." Gustavo replied and laughed loudly as everybody gathered their stuff and started to walk over to an empty spot on the beach. As soon as they set their stuff down, everybody went off to go do something.

Rhuben went off to drive the boat around to anybody who wanted to go tubing, Noah, Logan, Julius, and Kendall, and Camille tagged along. Riley and James went surfing. Sydney forced Stephanie, Carlos and Jo to help him make sandcastles. The adults were just lounging around. And Katie went to put up her snow cone kart, Patrick walking along beside her.

"Didn't you want to go surfing?" Katie asked as she started to set up her business. Patrick let out a wistful sigh as he looked out towards the waves. In the distance he could see James catching a wave.

"Not yet," he replied as he turned back to Katie. "I just wanted to talk to you first."

"About what?" Katie asked as she raised her eyebrows, setting up some of the food coloring that was used to give the snow cones flavor. She paused. '_He's not going to ask me out is he_?'

Patrick hesitated for a second before replying. "What do you think of my sister and your brother being together?" he asked as he brushed sand off of his legs. "I mean, they're not really official yet, not like Logan and Rhubes kind of are." He added with a nod. "But we could all see it coming."

"I think its fine," Katie replied with a shrug. "I mean, my brother is happy and your sister is awesome, so there's nothing wrong with it."

"What if they get married?" Patrick questioned.

"What about it?" Katie questioned, not exactly sure where the conversation was going. Patrick shrugged carelessly, digging his toe into the sand.

"Nothing, I'm just saying that if they got married you couldn't date Noah or me because we'd be related to you." He replied with a grin. Katie was about to say something but then she looked down at Patrick's ankle and her eyes widened.

"Is that a tattoo?" she questioned, mouth open in awe.

"Is that the first time she saw it?" Patrick replied with a smile and chuckled a little bit. "Yeah, it is, all six of us have one to match each other's." he smile faded a little bit but Katie didn't want to ask him about it. He nervously messed with some of the stuff that was on Katie's kart. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to a bottle with a blue liquid.

Katie giggled as she pointed to it, making sure that's what he was talking about. "It's food coloring." She smiled a little. "You know, to change the snow cone a different color."

"I know that!" Patrick snapped, seemingly annoyed. "I meant what flavor was it!" Katie stared at him mouth open slightly. He had never snapped at her, not even raised his voice a little while she was around and that worried her a little bit. "Sorry," he dropped his eyes to the sand before bringing them back up to Katie's looking serious. "I'm not stupid you know."

"I never said you were." Katie replied, slightly confused.

"I know," Patrick paused and tugged at the bottom of his shirt nervously, which was way different from the confident persona that he usually showed. "I just wanted to explain something. When my dad was around, things weren't always that happy. So I started to say stupid things to make my brothers and sisters laugh. Sort of as a comic relief." He gave a bitter laugh and looked at Katie again. "Which is funny because I'm not stupid at all? I'm actually really smart. I just act stupid so I can get a laugh out of people."

"Well, that's sweet." Katie replied and on impulse gave him a kiss on the cheek. Patrick blushed a little bit as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It just shows that you care about your family."

"Uh, yeah," Patrick started to back away a little bit. "I'm just going to go surfing now." He fell back over the sand and scrambled back to his feet, blushing madly. "I meant to do that." He lied before grabbing his board and darting out the ocean.

Everybody continued what they were doing for about another two hours before they came back to get some lunch.

"Whoa, you guys made that sandcastle?" Jo cried when she saw how big it was. Sydney smiled and nodded as Rhuben grabbed her Nikon camera and started to take some pictures. "I don't believe it."

"It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be," Camille replied as she brushed sand off her hands. "Well, it wasn't as hard when Carlos wasn't too busy knocking it down over and over again." She added as she looked over at Stephanie's boyfriend.

"Oh come on, that was the best thing about the sandcastle." Carlos declared as he slapped his helmet. "I mean it's a sandcastle, its begging to be knocked over."

"Stephie," Sydney whined, pouting. "Tell your boyfriend not to knock it over again." He stuck out his lower lip for added affect.

"There's no way that you can resist that." Noah laughed as he shook his head, spreading out his beach towel. "Trust me, we've tried."

"Carlos, don't knock over the castle." Stephanie replied as she gave into Sydney's pout. Carlos pouted himself as he plopped down on the sand next to her. He only perked up when Stephanie gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Well that definitely made you smile again." She laughed.

"I saw you guys out in the water," Jo stated as she turned to Riley, James, and Patrick, who were starting to load paper plates with food from the cooler that Julius had brought with him. "I didn't know that you could surf."

"Julius, Riley, and I surf all the time back in Steak and Kidney," Patrick replied as he started to devour a hamburger. "Rhu-Rhu and Noah usually wakeboard. Sydney likes to build sandcastles as you guys can see."

"I've only been surfing for a short time," James replied as he beamed over at her. "But I'm glad that you think I'm good."

"I didn't say that." Jo replied as she raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't have to; I could tell from the way that you stared from the boat."

"Whatever."

Kendall laughed as he watched his friends' exchange. It was obvious that Jo really liked James, but James had never really had a steady girlfriend, so it didn't surprise him that James was only flirting with her, he wasn't sure if James actually felt a connection with her. Not like he did with Riley. Kendall turned his head to the side and saw Riley quickly glance down, it was then that he noticed that she had a drawing pad against her knees and her hand was flying across the page.

"Where you staring at me?" he asked, teasingly.

"Not exactly," Riley replied, her head still bent and Kendall smiled when he saw that her cheeks turned the slightest bit of pink.

"Then why are you blushing?" he demanded, the grin never leaving his face.

"I'm not blushing." Riley replied quickly and then racked her brain for an excuse. "I'm just sunburnt."

"You never get burned." Julius pointed out, ignoring the frustrated look that his little sister gave him. "What?" he shrugged. "I'm just telling the truth. When did honesty stop being the best policy?"

"Since it'll result in your getting a punch in the face." Noah deadpanned while trying to hold in a smile. Patrick laughed and gave his brother a high-five.

"Then what are you doing?" Kendall persisted causing Riley to look at him strangely.

"Boy, you don't give up do you?" Riley asked as she raised an eyebrows before turning the sketchpad around to show a very detailed drawing of Kendall. She looked away in embarrassment. "So I like to draw people from time to time so sue me."

"Let me pose for one." Kendall replied and got into a pose. Riley laughed and shook her head as she started to draw him. Everybody laughed and joked around as they continued to eat, even making fun of Gustavo, Kelly, Ronan, and Mrs. Knight who were playing in the water like they were a bunch of kids. Julius brought out his guitar and started to sing some songs, which lifted everyone's moods higher. "You know I could do this all day." Kendall muttered low enough for only Riley to hear.

"Do what?" she asked without looking up, making a grunting sound of annoyance as she erased something and then re-drew it.

"Stare at you." He replied, causing Riley to finally look up and smirk.

"Ok, that was only _slightly_ creepy." She teased as she put the sketchbook aside. She looked around and noticed an empty volleyball net. "Who wants to play volleyball?"

"I do, that sounds fun." James said as he got to his feet.

"Good," Noah smiled as he stood up and brushed off his swim trunks. "Whoever wins gets two points added to their score."

"We're doing that competition again?" Logan asked in confusion as Big Time Rush and the rest of the DarkElements, except Julius, got to their feet. "I thought we buried the hatchet with that."

"Not if we were losing." Carlos replied as he slapped his friend n the shoulder blade.

"Alright, let's get started then." Patrick said as he took off his t-shirt and tossed it aside, stretching his arms. "I'm just warning you that you don't want to get too close to the net." He stopped and started to count before turning to Katie. "You have to play too."

"Why me?" Katie asked, her eyes widening behind her sunglasses. "You guys can play fine."

"Not if it's five against four," Noah spoke up and then shrugged with nonchalance. "But then again, if you're too scared to play-"he trailed off the sentence, knowing that Katie hated it whenever someone thought that she would be too scared to do something.

"I'm not scared of anything!" Katie declared as she scrambled to her feet and walked over to her brother. "Let's whoop their butts, bro!" she declared and the two of them did their secret handshake before heading over to the net. Julius, Camille, Stephanie, and Jo watched as the two played volleyball to get to eleven points.

The Jacksons held the lead for a while but then Big Time Rush was able to come back in the end and beat them. They listened to a few more songs and talked and ate some more before the sun started to set, signaling that it was time to go home. Everybody quickly packed up their stuff and started the somewhat far walk back to their cars.

"So are you going to drive home?" Rhuben asked as she and Logan walked slowly behind the others, hand in hand. She smiled as in front f them Carlos and Stephanie stopped walking long enough to give each other a quick kiss before continuing.

"After the race on the way here and almost crashing into that cop car, no thanks." Logan laughed in reply as he shook his head. "I'm going to leave the driving to Julius."

"That's good," Rhuben gently bumped him with her hip. "Because you drive like an old lady." Logan just laughed in reply and gripped her hand tighter in his.

"So, now that your dad is gone," he started slowly as he scratched the back of his head. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out on a real date. Like next Friday, because we're going to be so busy at work and terrorizing Bitters at the Palm Woods." He added with a smile.

Rhuben smiled back and gently laid her head down on his shoulder. "I'd like that." She replied. Logan smiled down at her and his frown faded when he noticed that Rhuben looked thoughtful about something.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No," Rhuben shook her head. "Nothing at all."

* * *

**A/N: So this chapter had to deal with the pairings of this story and how Big Time Rush and the DarkElements get back into their friendly competition with each other. So now my only problem is that everybody has someone that they're with except for Camille. But I think I'll find someone for her. I hope you guys like this chapter and I hope you liked how I put a bit more of character development on Julius and Patrick. ^-^**

**Oh and the race to the beach thing, I have done this before but it was a bit different. Picture two mini buses coming home from a cross country meet with a bunch of hyped up yet equally tired kids wanting to have fun. So we thought of racing the buses back to school. It is **_**really fun.**_

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**-Riley**


	11. Big Time Perfect

**.:Chapter Eleven – Big Time Perfect:.**

**A/N: This chapter has Lella Kiley and PatrickxKatiexNoah with small bits of Carphanie and Jameo (JamesxJo). This chapter is about their dates so I'm sure you guys will be happy with it.**

**

* * *

**The week had flown by with interviews, photo shoots for magazines, and a few TV appearances for Big Time Rush and the DarkElements. It was probably the busiest week that they have had recently. They were even too tired to play pranks on Bitters. On their days off Big Time Rush would typically go down to the Palm Woods pool and hang out with Jo, Camille, and Stephanie, but on the only day off they had that week, they just sat around their apartment, trying not to move as they were in too much pain and were trying not to fall asleep. Katie took the opportunity to mess with them by playing small pranks on them.

The DarkElements, on the other hand, were used to having to work hard and were having a lot of fun with it as their dad was gone and they had more freedom to do what they wanted. Their dad was gone they were able to record and work on songs that were more towards their taste, upbeat and easy to remember. Friday they were in the dance studio working on one of the songs that required a lot of difficult footwork and body strength for one of the dances.

"1 and 2 and 3 and 4," Rhuben was counting as she watched her brothers and sisters move through the dance moves at the fastest tempo they could move. Sometimes it was unbelievable that someone as young as Sydney could keep up with his older brothers and sisters, but with the almost obsessive pushing that their father gave them, he was able to do almost everything he tried, struggling a lot at first. "5 and 6 and 7 and 8." She nodded and pushed herself away from the mirror. "That was good guys."

"Good?" Noah breathed as he dropped to the floor in pain, sweat beading at his forehead. "That was really hard; we deserve more than a good."

"Ok," Rhuben cocked an eyebrow as she leaned down and poked him in the stomach, causing him to laugh and curl into a ball. "Riles did great."

"Thank you." Riley breathed, taking a small break from practically drowning in the water from her water bottle."

"Syd, you're really improving." Rhuben added, causing the small boy to beam with pride, dimples immediately appearing in his cheeks. "Noah, you were off beat for a second." She continued and then turned to Patrick with a small smile. "And you fell off beat for the second part of the song." She added.

Patrick rolled his eyes in reply and wiped sweat off of his forehead, flicking it onto her face, laughing a little as his sister made a face of disgust. "I started thinking about lunch and I completely lost it." He replied with a crooked half smile.

Rhuben rolled her eyes and laughed a little bit as she patted him on the arm. "Thanks Sparky," she replied, using his stage name.

"You're welcome, Midnight." Patrick replied before pulling her into his side for a hug.

"Other than that, I thought we were ok." Rhuben concluded as she pushed her brother away from her. "We still have some stuff to go over before that charity concert thing that we're doing next week." Julius and Ronan, who were sitting in the corner of the room, finally spoke up.

"I think the combination with the flares from Patrick and Noah flanking the sides of Sydney was great," Julius commented. "But I think that you need to work on the timing of it a little bit more."

"But you guys were awesome," Ronan added as he gave a bright smile. "With the new songs and the new moves that you guys have down, the charity concert is going to be great." He looked at his watch. "You guys did such a great job that you can go early today."

"Thanks," Sydney grinned from under the towel that was on his head. "Are you guys going to go straight home or do you have some sort of meeting to go to with Griffin?"

"I actually have some mastering to do with your music," Ronan replied as he scratched his forehead. "But you guys can go do whatever, just make sure you have your phones on you." He added, looking nervous. "Just in case Linda calls with news about the adoption."

"I'm going to stick around and go through your schedule," Julius added. "You never know when something else might come up." In the past week, Julius had moved from Australia back to California and was now living with them in their large house. He is now working alongside Ronan as a music producer and manager to his brothers and sisters and is finishing up his year of college online. Being their manager he works on their schedule and tells them about upcoming opportunities, helping them decide whether or not to do an appearance or if they're overbooked with something. "But I'll be home in another hour or so."

"Ok, we better get going home anyway," Sydney replied with a grin and turned to Rhuben. "Because Rhu-Rhu has to get ready for her date with Logan." He started making kissy sounds and Riley slapped a hand over his mouth when Rhuben rolled her eyes.

"That reminds me," Julius added as he slapped his forehead. "You guys have a meeting with your publicist tomorrow. If you're going to start dating," he looked a little funny when he said it. "Then we need to make sure that no rumors start to circle around."

"Got it," Riley added with a nod as she started to back out of the room. "Bye guys."

"Bye!" Julius and Ronan called back as they left the room and went off in the opposite direction.

"Finally, freedom!" Riley declared as she grabbed onto Noah's shoulder and jumped onto his back, him automatically grabbing onto her legs to make sure that she didn't fall off. "Is it just me or did this week go by soooooooo slowly?"

"It's not just you." Sydney replied as he rolled his eyes. "I thought that Friday would never get here." He turned to his siblings with a smile so bright that his teeth were borderline blue. "Who wants to get create some chaos?"

"It's what we do best," Patrick replied, looking offended. "So why wouldn't we?"

"Going to get into a bit of trouble, huh?"

The Jacksons turned around to see Big Time Rush standing behind them. Sydney immediately skipped over to the four boys to give them hugs. "What are you doing here?" Noah asked in confusion, slowly turning around so she wouldn't throw his eldest sister off of his back. "We thought you had the day off."

"You know Gustavo," James replied as he rolled his eyes. "Every time he makes the decision of giving us the day off, he finds out that his rival, Hawk, is doing something bigger and better and he ropes us back in." he shook his head sadly. "Because of that, I wasn't able to condition my hair this morning."

"I know the feeling." Patrick agreed as he gently patted his spikes.

"Hey," Logan greeted Rhuben with a shy wave before moving forward and giving her a hug, gently kissing her on the cheek. "Are you ready for tonight?"

"Well, if you would tell me where we're going, then I'd be able to answer your question." Rhuben replied teasingly. She was blushing a little bit as she knew that her brothers were staring intently at her, trying to find the right moment to tease her about it.

Riley gave a small wave, looking sort of annoyed. "Hey Logie." Her right eyebrow twitched. "So, what, now that you're dating my sister I'm not as important anymore?" she sniffed loudly. "I see how it is. I mean you always-"

"Landy, if I give you a hug, will you shut up?" Logan asked, turning to her.

"Watch it," Riley warned in reply before dropping from Noah's back and wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"What are you guys up to?" Carlos asked when he noticed their sweats and t-shirts. "Taking a small break?"

"A big one, actually." Noah replied with a half smile. "We have the rest of the day off because we've been working so hard." They slowly stared to back away. "And with that, we're going to go over to the Palm Woods and pay Bitters a little visit." He grinned evilly, and a look like that on a face that was usually really calm and peaceful was pretty scary.

"Aww man," Carlos stomped his foot on the ground. "We haven't been able to mess with Bitters in a week, this isn't fair!" he pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, causing Logan, James, and Kendall to burst out laughing.

Kendall hesitated for a second before hurrying after the Jacksons down the hallway. "Riles, wait a second." He called. Riley motioned for her siblings to go on without her before turning around o give Kendall a smile.

"Forget something, Hockey-Head?" she questioned teasingly.

"Uh, yeah," Kendall replied with a smile of his own and he scratched the back of his head. "Since you said that you guys weren't doing anything for the rest of the day, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me tonight."

"Why not?" Riley replied with a careless shrug. "I don't have anything better to do." At the frown on Kendall's face showing that he was not sure if she was joking or not, Riley laughed a little bit. "I was just joking, Kendall. It sounds great."

"Ok, see you later then." Kendall gave a little wave and went back to his friends as Riley hurried after her brothers and sister. "So," he clasped his hands together. "Riley and I are going out on a date tonight."

"Finally!" Carlos declared as he rolled his eyes and then turned to James and Logan with his hand held out. "Both of you owe me ten bucks!" James grumbled something about the fewer amounts of hair-care products that he was going to have as he slapped the bill into his friends' hand.

"Wait, you're telling me that you both made a bet that I wasn't going to ask Riley out?" Kendall demanded.

"Yep." Logan and James chorused.

"You see, Kendall," James sighed heavily as he put an arm around Kendall's shoulder. "You think that _every girl_ likes you." He explained, patting his friend on the chest. "So we thought that, like most times, she would leave you and go to me." Logan and Carlos nodded in agreement.

"Wow, what great friends you are." Kendall declared as he rolled his eyes.

Carlos, Logan, and James smiled sweetly. "Aren't we, though?" Carlos asked teasingly.

* * *

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"Shh!" Katie grabbed onto the front of Patrick's and Noah's shirts and dragged them to the ground beside her. She was sitting behind a potted plant, watching as Bitters went back to his desk, eating a basket of French fries. "Wait for it," she grinned as he raised a French fry to his mouth and bit into it. Bitters made a face of disgust and took it out of his mouth and started to scream when he saw that it was a finger.

He threw his basket of French Fires into the air and ran into the manager's office, where Patrick, Noah, and Katie could hear him barricading the door. "Ace," Patrick declared as he climbed to his feet. "The classic finger in the French fries."

"It would have been better if you put in some fake bugs," Noah advised as they all climbed out of the bushes. He shrugged. "You know, just to make it funnier."

Katie smiled and nodded in reply. That's what she liked the most about the twin boys. Besides the fact that they were obvious attractive, they were also as devious and mischievous as she was and knew practically every prank that you can play on someone. She thought back to the conversation that she had with her mother when they were going to the beach last week.

'_If I had to choose between the two of them who would I choose_?' she asked herself. '_Patrick is really funny and outgoing but Noah is sweet and caring_.' She let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. '_Wow, this is probably the hardest thing that I have ever had to think about_'.

"Uh, Katie? Hello?"

Katie blinked and jumped when she noticed that Patrick and Noah were waving hands in their faces, identical expressions of amusement gleaming in their eyes. Katie made a face and pushed their hands away.

"Sorry, I zoned out." She apologized.

"Yeah, we noticed," Patrick snorted and then mimicked her, making his eyes go blank, his mouth dropping open at the side. Noah snickered and elbowed his brother in the side.

"Don't be fooled," he joked. "Patrick always makes that face whenever he doesn't understand something." He laughed. "Which is often." Patrick scowled at his brother as Katie burst out into giggles, causing Noah's shy smile to grow wider.

"What brings you guys down to the Palm Woods anyway?" Katie asked as she moved to the empty seats that were in the lobby and sat down in one of them, Patrick and Noah occupying the seats opposite of her. "If I lived in a mansion, I would never leave."

"Eh," Patrick waved his hand. "The novelty wears off after a while."

"Besides, we were bored." Noah added. "Jo, Camille, and Stephanie are at the mall helping Riley and Rhuben get ready for their dates with Logan and Kendall and we didn't want to be around that many girls for too long." He paused. "Even though we love the mall."

"Kendall finally asked Riley out on a date?" Katie asked with a grin. "That's great." She looked sad for a second and the twin boys noticed.

"Upset that Kendall hasn't really been spending any time with you lately?" Noah guessed and then continued when he saw the look of wonder on Katie's face. "We felt the same way when we were younger." He explained and shrugged. "And I'm sure that Sydney feels the same way. But as we grow older we want to hang out with people our age a little bit more. Don't take it personally."

"Speaking of which," Patrick sighed as he stood up, bringing his phone out of his pocket. "I better go see how Sydney is doing at home alone." He turned to Katie. "Last time we left him alone he somehow got the idea of making an ice cream sundae and got chocolate syrup everywhere." He laughed as he brought his cell phone to his ear and walked away.

"Were you ever hard to deal with when Kendall was babysitting you?" Noah asked Katie. She shook her head in reply.

"Nah, he just sat me in front of the TV and went off to do whatever it is he wanted to do." She replied and smiled. "There _were _a few times that we did something that was extremely stupid. Like this one time we had a water fight in the house and had to clean everything up before mom got home." She rolled her eyes. "But she found out anyway."

"That's funny," Noah chuckled a little bit and then fell silent, bending his head forward, so his fringe covered his face. "Um, so I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime," he messed with the bottom of his shirt. "Kind of like a date?"

"Oh," Katie looked shocked for a second. '_Wow, I didn't think that he would be asking me out on a date, he always seemed to shy for that._' "Uh," she hesitated, seeing the blush rising to Noah's cheeks, realizing how embarrassing it was for him. "Yeah, sure."

"Really?" Noah looked up, his eyes brightening.

"Yeah," Katie smiled and nodded encouragingly so he wouldn't feel anymore embarrassed. "Sounds fun."

"Cool." Noah smiled shyly as Patrick walked back over, shouting something into the phone. "What's up?" he asked, turning away from Katie as Patrick turned off his phone and put it back into his pocket. "Is something wrong with Sydney?" he asked in concern.

"Yeah, apparently he was playing around with With and he ended up knocking into the sink and one of the pipes burst and now the house is starting to flood." Patrick snorted as he shook his head. "For someone who's really smart, he can be dumb. I don't see why he didn't think of turning off the water. I mean, it's so obvious."

"Right, it's obvious for someone as smart as you," Noah replied sarcastically as he rubbed his forehead. "We'll see you later, Katie." He gave a wave and started to walk away, but Patrick hung back for a second.

"I don't have much time to ask this," he said as he looked over at Noah before turning back to Katie, who looked interested. "But I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime. I mean, our brother and sister are going out, so I thought that-"

'_Wow, I didn't think that that would happen._' Katie thought to herself and started to panic a little bit. "Sure" she squeaked out before she could stop herself.

"Cool," Patrick beamed and gave a small wave before hurrying over to catch up with Noah. "Later!"

"Yeah," Katie sighed and flopped back into the chair, cupping her chin in her hands. "Later." She sighed and brought her knees up to her chest. '_What have I done? They're going to be so mad at each other_.'

Patrick and Noah rushed home to help clean up the water that had started to spill around before Ronan and Julius got home. Riley and Rhuben raced home after Noah had called them and they frantically tried to clean everything up. Julius and Ronan had gotten home before they could finish and laughed when they saw Sydney hiding in a cabinet, afraid that he was going to be in a lot of trouble. But the joke was on him as Ronan noticed that the pipes to the kitchen sink needed to be replaced when he bought the house and it was an excuse to get them changed sooner.

Finally they cleared everything up and Riley and Rhuben realized that soon they were going to have to get ready for their dates, and even though they didn't really want to admit it, because they didn't really want to ruin their 'tomboy' image, they were excited to be going. So they called Camille, Stephanie, and Jo to come over so they could try and figure out what to wear and just to talk so they could take their minds off of it.

"So, where are you guys going tonight?" Stephanie asked from where she was sitting on Riley's bed, flipping through a magazine. Camille and Jo were sitting on the floor, looking through another one as Riley and Rhuben got ready for their dates, trying to choose something to wear.

"I have no idea," Rhuben replied as she walked back out of her closet, holding up a hanger with a purple skirt. "And that's annoying because Logan knows that I hate surprises."

"He just wants to make it special," Camille pointed out. "I mean, going from someone who is a best friend to being your girlfriend isn't easy."

"And you think it's easy for me?" Rhuben snorted in reply.

"What about this?" Riley asked as she walked out of her closet wearing a red tank-top under a white blazer, a short black skirt, black leggings with red rhinestones and white boots. "I think it's not really my style, but-"

"No, that's perfect!" Jo declared, holding out a hand, telling her that she shouldn't change again. "I think that it's a good mix between your skater girl style along with being fashionable." Riley gave thumbs up in reply as she moved over to her desk to put on some makeup. "Where are you guys going?"

"To the boardwalk." Riley replied and then laughed a little bit. "The only thing that's kind of weird is the fact that I'm driving." She shrugged. "But it's cool." She added as Rhuben walked back into her closet to try and find something. "What are you guys doing tonight?"

"Carlos and I are going to the movies," Stephanie replied. "We're going to that new Twilight movie and throw popcorn on people when they start screaming Team Jacob or Team Edward."

"Sounds fun." Jo replied simply.

"Do I detect a bit of jealousy?" Camille asked as she nudged her friend. Jo started to deny it, but then decided to tell the truth when her friends turned and stared at her. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yes," Jo moaned in reply and brushed her blonde hair away from her face. "I like James a lot, a lot more than I originally intended. But I don't know if he feels the same way."

"So just tell him," Rhuben replied as she walked out of her closet wearing a white see through tunic with a purple tank-top, a chain belt around her waist, black leggings, and Purple high-tops. "It can't hurt." She shrugged and then made a funny face. "And besides, we all know that James isn't the most perceptive."

"You got that right." Camille replied with a little laugh.

"I think he even cares about his _hair _more than he cares about himself." Stephanie agreed and then turned to Jo. "But if there's anybody that can take his eyes away from his the mirror, it's you."

"Maybe." Jo didn't sound convinced.

"Come in," Riley called as there was a knock on the door. The door opened and Patrick stuck his head into the room, making sure that everyone was dressed before entering. "What's up, Pat?" she grinned. "Wondering if you could do our hair before we go?"

"You know me too well," Patrick replied as he grabbed a hair brush from the dresser and moved to stand behind Riley as he started to brush her shoulder length hair. "You guys are lucky you know." He added, looking at Rhuben over his shoulder.

"Why's that?" Rhuben asked as she sat down on her bed, putting a necklace around her neck.

"Because I already know Kendall and Logan and Noah and I don't have to interrogate them." Patrick replied casually. Jo, Stephanie, and Camille, who thought that Patrick was joking, burst out laughing, although the twin girls stayed silent.

"He's not joking," Rhuben shook her head. "The last time that one of us went on a date, they grabbed him and tied him to a chair, putting on a lamp near his face to add to the ambience, and started to grill him." She reached over and flicked him on the ear. "We're lucky he even came back."

"A little over protective?" Camille guessed.

"That's probably not the right word for it," Riley replied as she rolled her eyes. "But obsessive would be a little too strong." She winced. "Ouch!"

"Don't forget that I'm the one that's controlling your hair." Patrick warned, causing everyone to laugh again. Noah stuck his head in the room and knocked on the doorframe before smiling over at Rhuben.

"Logan's here for you, Rhubes." He stated gently.

"I should get going too," Riley stated and Patrick quickly reached over and grabbed a can of hairspray and started to spray it. "Careful," Riley started to cough. "I don't want to have an asthma fit before I even go."

"That wouldn't be so bad." Patrick replied carelessly as he put the brush down and backed away. "Have fun."

"Tell us everything when you get back." Stephanie added as the girls got up to go.

"You guys will be the second to know," Rhuben replied as she grabbed her phone off of her dresser. "Because we all know that these guys are going to want to know everything first." She added and patted Noah on the head. Noah gently smiled as he brushed her hand away from his hair.

"You know it," he replied with a wink and a laugh. "See you later, Rhu-Rhu."

"Bye." Rhuben replied as she hurried out of the room and down the stairs. She made a face when she saw Logan sitting in the living room with Julius. "Juli, how many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to worry about me?" she stated as she rolled her eyes, walking in the room. "I mean, even Ronan's up in his room."

"Yeah, but he's not your older brother." Julius pointed out and gave her a hug. "I haven't seen you this happy in a long time." He added quietly. Rhuben smiled back in reply, slightly embarrassed. He then turned to Logan, eyes narrowed. "Hurt her and I'll be hurting you, got it?"

"Yes, got it!" Logan cowered in fear. "I don't want to get hurt. I won't hurt her! Ok!"

"Julius, shut up," Rhuben rolled her eyes again and grabbed onto Logan's hand, tugging him to his feet. "Don't listen to him; he's just trying to scare you."

"And it's working." Logan replied as he glanced over at Rhuben as she tugged him over to the front door. Riley hurried down the stairs at that point, grabbing her car keys off of the stand by the front door.

"I'm gone!" she shouted for Ronan and Julius to hear before giving her sister and Logan a wave and a bright smile. "Bye guys, have fun."

"Later." Rhuben replied before following her sister out the front door. Riley hurried over to her car, got in, and drove away. Rhuben pulled out her car keys and unlocked the car so she and Logan could get in. "_Where_ are we going?" she asked again, causing Logan to grin.

"You'll find out," he replied as he pulled on his seatbelt. "Just follow my directions and you'll be fine." He added with a mysterious smile.

"You know, I've _always_ hated when you told me that when we were kids," Rhuben replied as she pulled out of the driveway and drove in the opposite direction that Riley had gone. "I mean, when it came to 'operating bugs' it just grossed me out."

"Well, you never fainted." Logan pointed out.

"No," Rhuben agreed. "I just freaked out and wouldn't go anywhere near them and you just laughed at me." She smiled a little bit at the memory of a little Logan being fascinated with the idea of dissecting things.

"Sorry, I was just having fun." Logan replied and then glanced out the window. "Turn right."

Rhuben did as she was told and for the next twenty minutes, the two of them reminisced about what trouble the two and Riley had gotten into when they were younger as she drove to wherever Logan was taking her. Finally, he told her to pull off on the side of the road and got out of the car. Rhuben pulled her car keys out of the ignition and opened the driver's side door, jumping when she saw a hand in her face.

"Sorry," Logan apologized as he laughed a little bit. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me," Rhuben denied as she grabbed his hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, closing the door behind her.

"C'mon, it's just a little ways this way." Logan tilted his head and the two started to walk off the road and over onto the grass, the dew causing them to slip and slide a little bit. As the two talked he nervously put his arm around her shoulders and smiled a little bit when Rhuben rested her head on his shoulder. It was still hard for him to believe that the girl that he had a crush on ever since he was 9 was finally his girlfriend, and he didn't want to do anything that would mess it up.

"What the?" Rhuben stopped walking and laughed a little bit when she saw a blanket and a picnic basket. "Wow, this is so cheesy it's not even funny."

"Well, I'm a romantic," Logan shrugged in reply before motioning for her to sit on the blanket as he opened the picnic basket. "I brought some roast beef sandwiches and got this cake from the bakery I found." He explained as he brought out to lumps covered in aluminum foil. "It had almonds in it, but I asked for pieces to be made without it because I remembered that you were allergic."

"That's so sweet," Rhuben replied, blushing a little bit at the attention that she was getting. She wasn't really used to anyone besides her family caring about her the way Logan did and it was a welcome change. "Thank You."

"You're welcome." Logan replied and the two of them started to eat their sandwiches. Once finished they immediately dove into the chocolate cake, both agreeing that it was the best cake that they had ever eaten. Finally, they put the trash away and laid down on the blanket, star gazing. Logan pointed out each constellation that he could find, as Rhuben listened quietly. "And that's Pisces, the twins."

"You must have read a lot when you were bored." Rhuben commented, messing with Logan's fingers in her hand.

"Things were pretty boring after you guys left and before I met up with the guys." Logan shrugged in reply, shaking out his arm before putting it behind his head again. "So I had to do something to pass the time."

"You could have called." Rhuben pointed out. Logan turned his head and smiled softly.

"The phone works both ways." He replied and Rhuben twisted her mouth to the side.

"I was so busy and-"

"You don't have to explain." Logan interrupted and then turned his head back and looked up at the sky. Rhuben did the same and a shooting star caught her gaze. She followed it across the sky with her eyes and smiled a little bit.

"A shooting star," she pointed out and nudged Logan's side. "Make a wish." She let out a Un-Rhuben-like giggle when Logan theatrically squeezed his eyes shut. "What did you wish for?" she asked when he opened his eyes again.

"That me and the guys stay friends for a long time," Logan replied as he let out a breath. "And that we're always happy. What about you?"

"I didn't have to wish for anything." Rhuben replied, causing Logan to turn and looked at her in confusion. "My dad is gone and me and my siblings are finally happy. What more could I want?" she smiled and Logan smiled in reply.

He moved forward and captured Rhuben's lips in a sweet kiss.

Rhuben smiled against his lips before kissing him back.

* * *

"Hey" Riley looked up as she got out of her car and smiled as Kendall waved and walked over to her, giving her a gentle hug in greeting.

"Hey." Riley responded, quickly checking her phone before sliding it into the pocket on her skirt. "You look nice, Hockey-Head." She added motioning to the dressy shirt and jeans he was wearing. "Better than the flannel that you always wear." She added teasingly.

"Thank you, Ruby, you look great too." Kendall replied and then laughed at the confused look on Riley's face. "Well, you always have a nickname for me, whether it's Hockey-Head, Eyebrows, or Dimple, so I thought that I would give one to you." He explained. "And since you're so pretty and you like the color red, I thought the nickname Ruby was fitting."

"Much better than other people have given me," Riley replied as she nervously brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Oh, this is for you." Kendall moved his arm out from behind his back and handed her a small rose.

"Thank you," Riley smiled and took the flower from him. "Shall we get going?"

"Yes, we shall." Kendall replied as he held out his arm for Riley to take. She slid her arm around his and the two walked across the boardwalk, talking to each other about music and concerts and stuff. "So, Ronan tells us that you guys are going to be doing a charity concert soon."

"Yeah," Riley replied as the two stopped walking. "All of the proceeds that we get are going to a shelter for abused children, teenagers, and women." She let out a small sigh. "We're giving back to those that have helped us over the years.

"Well, I think it's a good idea." Kendall agreed as he turned a bright booth caught his eye and headed over to it. Riley slowly followed behind him, eyebrows raised in interest. "I'd like five balls to throw, please." He said to the man behind the counter as he put down a five dollar bill. The man took the money and grabbed five baseballs and motioned to a small tower of milk bottles.

"Knock em' down and win a prize." He said, sounding bored.

"You _do_ know that these things are rigged, right?" Riley stated as she moved to stand beside him, arms crossed over her chest.

"Just watch," Kendall replied with a warm smile and a wink before rearing back and throwing the ball forwards. Riley watched, slightly impressed, as he knocked down the bottles. She looked over at him and he smiled back. "Playing hockey all the time helps with your upper arm muscles." He explained. Riley nodded and watched as he threw the balls four more times and knocked them milk bottles down each time.

"Pick your prize." The guy sounded like he hated Kendall at that moment as when people didn't get the milk jugs knocked down they kept going, spending more money.

"Um," Kendall scanned the collection and then looked at a large stuffy puppy, similar to the one that he had used in the first photo shoot that Griffin had creative license over. "I'll take the dog, please." The man handed it over and he smiled as he handed it to Riley.

"Thank you," she looked overwhelmed with how big the stuffed animal was, but Kendall could see in her eyes that she was really happy to have it. The two started walking again. "When Sydney finds out that you were able to knock down the bottles he's going to be mad." She laughed a little. "It took him forever, and 60 dollars worth of Noah's credit card, to finally win something."

"Well, I won't tell him if you won't." Kendall replied and slid his arm around Riley's shoulders. He felt her stiffen for a second, but then she relaxed and moved closer to him. "What do you want to do now?" he asked and pointed to the Ferris wheel. "How about that?"

"No," Riley shook her head and blushed a little bit when Kendall looked over at her. "I don't like Ferris Wheels."

"Afraid of heights?" Kendall guessed.

"A little." Riley admitted after a second of silence. She then snorted. "Plus, it wouldn't surprise me if you bribed the worker to making it that they stop it at the top to make it all romantic." She rolled her eyes and tried to do air quotes, but it was hard as she was holding onto a giant stuffy puppy.

"I wasn't thinking that at all," Kendall replied and then looked thoughtful. "But now I am."

"Keep dreaming." Riley replied simply and then stopped when a sweet smell hit the air. She sniffed lightly before turning towards a booth that was selling cotton candy. Kendall noticed her stop and laughed when he saw what she was looking at.

"You can go sit on that bench over there," he nodded in the direction as he took out his wallet. "And I'll get some cotton candy."

"The purple one, please." Riley replied before walking over to the bench and sitting down, gently placing her flower and stuffed dog on the ground by her feet. Kendall came back a few seconds later carrying two sticks of cotton candy. "Thank you." She took the stick from his hand and plucked off a bit of the fluffy junk food before sticking it in her mouth, smiling at the taste.

"Yum" Kendall agreed as he took a large bite. Riley looked over at him and laughed when she saw that some of it was stuck to his lips and chin. "What?" he questioned as he turned to her.

"You have some stuck to your face." She replied as she reached out and wiped it off of his chin. She blushed and quickly pulled her away when her fingers brushed his lips. "Sorry."

"It's ok." Kendall laughed in reply and kept eating his cotton candy. "So, I have a question for you." He stated after a minute of silence. Riley looked at him wordlessly and he continued. "How come you never played us anything on the guitar?"

"How come _you've_ never played us anything on the guitar?" Riley shot back. "Logan told me that you play the guitar all the time when you're not working with Gustavo." Kendall looked towards the sky as he finished his cotton candy and wiped his hands off on his jeans.

"I'll do you one better." He replied and smiled as he took a deep breath and started to sing. Riley smiled when she recognized it as one of her favorite songs, _You and I Both_ by Jason Mraz. She listened as he continued to sing, hitting every note perfectly and putting a lot of emotion into the song. Finally he finished the song, trying to catch his breath.

"I have to admit," Riley shook her head slowly, a smile on her face. "That was probably some of the best singing I've ever heard." She eyed him warily. "Did Logie tell you that was my favorite song?"

"No," Kendall replied and then laughed a little bit when Riley didn't look convinced. "I'm telling you the truth, Logan didn't tell me." He held his hands up defensively.

"Then how did you know?" she questioned.

"I swiped your iPod once and saw that it was your most played song." Kendall replied with a half smile. Riley smirked and shook her head again. Kendall's smile slowly faded as he slowly moved towards her. Riley's smirk faded and her eyes closed a little bit as she also moved towards him. "Stop me if you don't want me to do this," Kendall whispered, just in case she got a little bit scared as her father had been taken to jail only a week ago.

"I would have already if I didn't want to," Riley whispered back a second before his lips landed on hers.

* * *

"Hey," Riley greeted her sister when she got home. Rhuben was sitting on the front steps of their house, seemingly waiting for her sister. "What are you doing?" she slowed to a stop in front of her sister and looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't want to be the only one that went in there to be bombarded with questions." Rhuben replied as she brushed off her tunic, standing up. She smiled. "So I waited for you to get home so you could go in first." She laughed a little bit when Riley made a noise of annoyance.

"Gee, thanks." Riley rolled her eyes and gently hip-checked her sister before opening the front door. "We're back!" she called loudly.

"Oh good," Ronan immediately walked out of the living room to their left, looking at his watch. "And right on time." He smiled as he gestured towards the living room. "You might as well get this over with; the guys have been waiting for you all night. I just got them to sit still."

"Anyone ever told you that you make a good dad?" Rhuben asked as she gave Ronan a hug. He sighed as he put an arm around her shoulder.

"It would explain why I was a nervous wreck while you guys were gone." He replied and then laughed as Sydney leapt off of the couch and grabbed his sister's hands, forcing them into the room as Julius, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney started to shout questions at them.

Ronan laughed as he sat down in an armchair on the other side of the room, waiting to get a word in edge wise. He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he watched Riley and Rhuben explain what they had done on their dates. Julius looked protective, yet happy at the same time. Sydney's eyes were wide and he nodded as he listened to his sister's stories, and Patrick and Noah were listening intently and asking questions when it was something that they didn't understand. It was the first time that he had seen all six of them that happy together.

For now, everything was perfect...

* * *

**A/N: There you go two happier chapters in a row. But you know what that means; it's going to go back to the angsty ones in the next chapter. I hope you guys really liked this chapter. The next chapter should be up tomorrow. Thanks.**

**-Riley**


	12. Big Time Red Carpet Pt1: Getting Dates

**.:Chapter Twelve – Big Time Red Carpet pt.1:.**

**

* * *

**"Ok guys, here's the news about your first CD release," Kelly stated and then paused, gauging each boys' reaction. With each word that she had said, they leaned forward and were now holding onto the sides of their chairs so hard their knuckles turning white. Kelly looked over at Gustavo and smiled, loving how much tension they were in. "Big Time Rush has gone gold."

James let out a little squeak of happiness as Kendall, Logan, and Carlos stared in confusion. Carlos finally spoke up after a few moments. "Is that good?" he questioned innocently.

"IS THAT GOOD?" Gustavo shouted, causing the four boys to jump and scream in fear as he slapped his hands on the desk. "IS THAT _GOOD_?" He took off his sunglasses and glared at the four boys as if he was going to stomp their faces into the ground. "For a first time CD from a new boy-band, that's actually pretty damn _awesome!" _he replied with a grin causing the boys to erupt into cheers again.

"And to think" Kelly jumped into the conversation. "One month ago you guys just finished your first tour." She shook her head as a large smile filled her face. "Congratulations guys. There's going to be a big party here for you guys next weekend." She added as she looked at her Palm Pilot. "Are there any food preferences for you guys?"

"Yeah, I'd like a little bit of salmon." James spoke up and then looked around at his friends as they stared at him. "What? Salmon is good for the skin."

"That's not the only good news we have for you," Kelly added and then shoved Gustavo back from his desk and opened a drawer, pulling out four large passes. "How would you guys like to go to a movie premiere?"

"No way!" Carlos screamed as the four boys dove forward, scrabbling to get the passes. "What movie?"

"Some vampire one I think, I really don't know." Kelly replied and then brightened again. "All I know is that it's going to be your first official red carpet experience, so you're going to have to meet with your stylist and your publicist today."

"Why both?" Kendall asked from where he was engrossed in looking over his pass, as if trying to prove that it was real. Logan scoffed and rolled his eyes, once again telling himself that he needed to get new friends. "What?" Kendall's eyes widened. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Kendall my friend," James sighed as he patted his friend in the chest. "We need to go to our stylist, because, let's face it, your guys' clothing style stinks!" Logan and Carlos glared over at James, but he ignored them and continued. "But we need to go to our publicist so we can talk about questions to answer and avoid. There's nothing worse than having what you say get twisted around into something that it's not."

"James is right," Gustavo agreed. "Now, Kelly and I are going to the premiere too," he leaned forward and glared at them, narrowing his eyes. "So we're going to keep an eye on you." He added through clenched teeth. "To make sure you don't screw anything up."

Kelly slapped Gustavo on the back of his head and he immediately leaned back in the chair, breathing deeply and making 'ohm' sounds as if he was trying to channel his energy. "Anyway," she sighed once she was sure that Gustavo was calm. "With those passes you're allowed to bring one guest with you. So have fun and we'll see you tomorrow night."

"Wait, we get the day off too?" Carlos asked eyes wide.

"Yep," Kelly smiled and nodded. "You guys deserve it. See you."

The four boys jumped up from their chairs and started to back out of the room slowly, as if it was some sort of a joke and they were about to get called to sit back down. When nothing happened, they turned and started to run out of the room, pushing and shoving each other when they got to the doorway and hurried out as fast as they could.

"Can you guys believe it?" Carlos demanded with happiness as he lifted his pass over his head and looked at it in the sunlight. "We're going to an actual movie premiere! Ow!" He shielded his face when the sunlight got to bright and walked into a lamp post, falling back to the ground.

"How many times have I told you to not look directly in the sun?" Logan asked as the other three boys stopped and waited for Carlos to get back up.

"I don't know, mommy," Carlos replied, sounding dazed. "How many times do you _want_ to tell me?" He held onto his helmet as he got up from the ground. "Ouch! I think my helmet left a bruise when I walked into the street light."

"It wouldn't make much of a difference to the way you act anyway," Kendall replied with a laugh as he helped his friend off of the ground. "Are you ok, dude?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Carlos replied and grinned. "I can't believe that we're going to a movie premiere!" he cried again.

"He's fine." James stated as he rolled his eyes. "I mean, with that helmet it's not like he's going to get any more brain damage than he already has." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Then again, the publicist will probably tell him not to wear that so he might want to get used to it." With that, he grabbed Carlos' helmet off of his head, causing Carlos to shriek and run his fingers through his short hair, before glaring at James and yelling out a battle cry.

James screamed in fear and Kendall and Logan laughed as Carlos chased James down the street, shouting for his helmet. Kendall sighed as he put his arm around Logan's shoulder, watching their friends tear off down the sidewalk, pushing people out of their way.

"Do you still want to have new friends?" he asked with a laugh.

"Sometimes," Logan replied with a shrug. "But I know that I can't replace you guys."

"That's good to know." Kendall grinned in reply and they hurried after their two friends as they continued to run down the sidewalk, attracting weird looks as they went. It was only when they reached the Palm Woods did Carlos tackle James to the ground and he finally got his helmet back.

"Oh I missed you," Carlos cried as he cradled his helmet in his arms and kissed the top of it. "Did you miss daddy too?" he placed his helmet on his head and gave it a compassionate slap.

"Ok" James, Kendall, and Logan stated slowly.

"Carlos, could you do me a favor and _get off of me_!" James shouted as he thrashed around, trying to get his friend off of his back. Carlos stuck his tongue out in reply and rolled off of his friend's back. "Thank you."

"Uh, you're welcome?" Jo replied from where she was standing in front of James. She was walking by when he had said thank you to her. (Which is why she phrased it as a question.

"No, not you." James replied as he got to his feet, brushing off his clothes carefully. "I was talking about Carlos." He replied and smiled warmly, causing her to smile in reply. _'Wow,_' James thought to himself as a goofy expression filled his face. '_I didn't notice how pretty her smile was_.'

"James?" Jo waved her hand in front of James' face as Kendall, Logan, and Carlos crowded around to see what was wrong. "James, are you ok?"

"Me?" James suddenly came back to life. "Yeah! I'm fine! Nothing's wrong here!" he started laughing nervously, causing Jo and his friends to look at him strangely. "Just being me!"

"Ok," Jo replied as she made a face and started to walk away.

"Wait!" James shot his arm out, stopping her as she almost walked right into his arm .She blinked rapidly as she turned to face him.

"Yes James?" Jo asked as calmly as possible although she looked like she was trying not to laugh. Her smile wilted into a frown when he started to babble, staring at her. "Ok, I'll just be going." She backed away slowly before turning and walking to the Palm Woods pool.

James sighed and ran his hands over his face as Logan, Kendall, and Carlos moved around James, with arms across their chests and smirks on their faces. James spread his fingers apart and looked at his friends. "What?" he demanded.

"You like Jo." Kendall stated simply.

"No, I don't." James replied as he shook his head, bringing his arms back down to his sides.

"Yes, you do." Logan replied. "The signs are all there." He moved forward and looked at James' eyes. "Your pupils are huge, you can't say more than a couple of babbles whenever she is around, and you have a stupid smile on your face."

"Carlos has that look all the time when it comes to food, and half of the stuff he doesn't like." James pointed out.

"It doesn't matter, you like Jo and that's all there is to it." Kendall replied and then snapped as he thought of something. "You should ask her to be your date for the movie premiere."

"I can't do that." James replied, shaking his head. "I'll just make a fool of myself and I don't want her to think that-"

"Aha!" Carlos shouted. "You care what she thinks, which means that you do like her!" he laughed as he started to dance around his friend. "You like Jo! You like Jo!" he sang as he danced around. "James and Jo sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

"Carlos, knock it off." Kendall laughed as he forced his friend to stand still. "Don't worry Jamesie; we're going to get you that date with Jo."

"You have an idea don't you?" Logan asked when he saw the sly smile that was sliding onto Kendall's face. Kendall slowly nodded, his smile growing bigger.

* * *

"So what did you call us over here for?" Patrick asked as he played doodle jump on his iPhone. "I mean, we were just planning on how we were going to-"Noah slapped a hand over his brother's mouth.

"Don't ruin it." He stated causing the boys of Big Time Rush to look at each other with worry as the Jacksons smiled sweetly. "But you might want to make this fast," he added as he turned to Big Time Rush and Katie. "Ronan and Julius are going to be picking us up soon as we can go to the mall."

"You walked here?" Kendall asked as he made a face, turning to Riley and Rhuben. "Why didn't you just drive?"

"Because we were already at the studio," Sydney replied with a warm smile. "And we figured that if we drove we would be making the carbon footprint any bigger."

"What's the carbon footprint?" Patrick asked as he wrinkled his nose. Sydney smiled widely as he sat back where he was sitting on the couch, crossing his legs, letting his brothers and sisters know that he was getting ready to go into a very long explanation.

"A carbon footprint is "the total set of greenhouse gases emissions caused by an organization, event or product"." He explained. "For simplicity of reporting, it is often expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide, or its equivalent of other greenhouse gases, emitted." He frowned when Patrick stared back at him stupidly and he sighed heavily. "You know the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk?" he asked in a fake happy voice.

"Yeah." Patrick replied with a nod.

"It's his footprint in the cloud." Sydney concluded faking a smile.

"Oh, ok." Patrick replied cheerfully, causing Noah to slap himself in the forehead, wondering how he was the smarter one of the two.

After James had made a fool of himself with Jo in the lobby, Big Time Rush had called the Jacksons over to their apartment to get their help with James asking her to be his date for the movie premier. Kendall recruited Katie as well, knowing that she would be able to help them somehow.

"We brought you here to see if you could help us get James to ask Jo to be his date for the movie premiere that we're going to." Carlos replied.

"Oh, you got invited to that too?" Sydney asked as he brushed his black hair out of his face. "So we did we."

"That's not all." Carlos suddenly became animated again as he jumped up and down on the spot. "Our first CD went Gold."

"No way!" Sydney cried his eyes as wide as his mouth.

"Yes way! We got the news this morning."

"Oh, that's so cool, you-"

"If we could get back to the subject at hand." Kendall interrupted, rolling his eyes at his friends' childish antics. (Which you can't blame Sydney for because he's 9) "We need your guys' help to get James to ask Jo as his date to the movie premiere." He studied his friend's reactions and noticed that they all mirrored each other's with 'what can I do to help' looks. "What?"

"Well, James is your best friend," Rhuben replied, nodding slowly. "And he's a ladies' man, how can he not ask her out himself?" Logan rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead before turning to his girlfriend to explain.

"You haven't seen him like this." He replied and nudged James in the side. James opened his mouth and started to babble again, and Logan closed it with a tap of his palm. "He's been doing that since he tried asking her in the lobby."

"Oh." Rhuben made a face and then stood up as she started to pace the room. "Let me think of something."

"While you're thinking about that," Kendall turned towards Riley, who he had been dating for the past week, but not officially. "What color dress are you wearing to this premiere?"

"I don't know," Riley replied as she rested the side of her head on her fist, sitting in the unoccupied chair. "Why?" she raised her eyebrows as if she was annoyed at something. Patrick noticed and looked over at Kendall but bit his bottom lip, knowing that his sister wouldn't want him to say anything.

"I was wondering so we could match," Kendall replied and then hesitated when she didn't reply. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all." Riley replied through a fake smile.

"Right," Katie sighed and then got everyone's attention. "How about he tries asking her with flowers?" she suggested. "Every girl likes flowers."

"Where are we going to get flowers though?" Carlos asked as he rolled his eyes. "I mean, it's not like Buddha Bob is going to waltz in here with a bunch of flowers that he had just cut from the garden saying that he thought that they were being overcrowded and decided to give them to Kendall's mom so she could liven up the place?"

As soon as he finished there was a sudden knock on the door and Mrs. Knight walked out of her room. "I wonder who that is." She stated as she pulled back the bolt and opened the door. "Hey Buddha Bob!" she greeted when she saw the Palm Woods' handyman. Katie and Kendall had recently convinced her that he wasn't an axe murderer and she finally realized that he was a nice man. "What brings you here?"

"Well, I was gardening the Palm Woods garden and I cut up these flowers," he shoved the purple bouquet into Mrs. Knights face and continued his explanation in his gravelly voice. "And I thought that it was being overcrowded and thought that you can use these flowers to liven up the place."

"Thank you," Mrs. Knight replied with a smile as she took the flowers and sniffed them. "They're beautiful."

"Wow, that oddly specific." Katie commented before she and Kendall ran up to their mom. "Mom, we need those flowers!"

"I know, don't you think that they liven up the-"

"Thank you!" Kendall plucked the bouquet of flowers from his mother's hands and charged out of the apartment, his friends following him. James tried to sneak off in the opposite direction, not wanting to be embarrassed anymore, but Patrick and Noah grabbed him and started to push him after the others as they headed down to the Palm Woods lobby. They looked around and then hurried outside to see the girls sitting on a bench in Palm Woods Park.

"Ok, this is what you're going to do," Katie stated as they all sat in the bushes, wearing tree hats and camouflage watching as Jo, Camille, and Stephanie talk to each other. "You're going to take these flowers," she picked up the purple bouquet. "And go over and ask her to be your date."

"Just like that?" James squeaked.

"Yeah, just like that." Rhuben replied as she slapped him on the shoulder. "Now go get her!" she added, as she pushed him out of the bushes.

"Wait a second," Logan stood up and grabbed one of the purple flowers from James' bouquet. He turned around and handed it to Rhuben, a large smile on his face. "Will you be my date to the movie premiere?"

"Yeah," Rhuben smiled as she took the flower, breaking off the bottom part of the stem to stick in her hair. "Thanks, Logie." She stood up and kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush and smile happily.

"Ok if we're done with being disgustingly happy," Noah smiled as his sister turned to him, letting her know that he was only teasing. "Go, James. This is the perfect time."

"But, I don't know, maybe-"Annoyed, Riley stood up and gave him a hard shove on the back before turning back to sit in the bushes to see what was going on. Scowling, James glared at his friends before taking a deep breath and turning back to walk over to Jo.

"Don't look now," Stephanie whispered when she saw James walking over, getting Camille's and Jo's attention. "But I think that James I going to ask you out, Jo."

"I can only hope." Jo replied as she rolled her eyes, laughing a little bit. "After what happened earlier today I can only think that he'll start babbling again."

"Only one way to find out." Camille replied as she leaned back in her chair, watching what was going to happen. "Hey James." She greeted when he finally reached the three girls.

"Hey Camille, Hey Stephanie," he greeted the two girl with a nod before giving Jo a shaky smile. "Hi Jo."

"Hey James," Jo replied as she repositioned herself in her chair. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to…." James voice trailed off as he started to babble again. Camille and Stephanie watched with expression of shock. This was the guy that usually was able to talk to girls so well that he could get a date a day for a whole week. And now here he was babbling at them.

Jo started to say something but then jumped when James shoved the bouquet of flowers into her face. "Aww, are these for me?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to-"

Before James could finish getting the words out, a bee flew over and started to buzz around the flowers. Jo screamed thrashing around as more bees came. Jo, Stephanie, and Camille screamed and ran away as bees swarmed around them. James winced as he watched them run off and then slowly turned and walked away when other people started to see what was going on.

"Oooh," Sydney winced. "Strike one."

"Ok, so maybe I should have thought about the possibility of there being bees first." Katie stated as she bit her thumbnail in worry.

"Don't worry, I have an idea." Carlos stated as he jumped up and slapped his helmet. Kendall stood up beside him and slapped a hand down on his shoulder.

"If it has anything to do with the swirly slide, chocolate pudding, or a billboard, then it's out of the question." He stated, causing Carlos to pout and sit back down on the ground. Sydney patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't' worry, that was my idea too." He stated sympathetically. "It would have worked too."

"I don't think I even want to know what the idea was," Riley stated as she brushed her hair behind her ears. "Ok, that didn't work at all." She stated as she gave James a gentle hug. "Don't worry James, we're going to make sure that you and Jo get together." She pursed her lips in thought. "What's another way that girls like being asked out?"

"To their face." Rhuben pointed out as if it was obvious. "The worst thing that you could do is ask her over the phone."

"Treat her like a lady." Sydney agreed as he smiled warmly, his dimples appearing. "Act like she's a buddy and nothing will ever happen."

"Don't burp, belch, or scratch." Patrick added with a little laugh, "I learned that the hard way.

Katie's ears perked up as she turned to look at the boy. "You've been on a date before?" she asked. He nodded in reply and smiled a little bit at the thought. "Oh, that's cool." She bit her thumbnail as she looked away. She cleared her throat nervously. '_Well, that probably pushes my chances of being able to go to the movie premiere out of the water_'.

Noah must have noticed the distressed look on her face as he spoke up quietly. "Katie, do you want to go to the premiere with Patrick and Me?" he asked hopefully. "I mean, if your brother and his friends are going to go, you might as well come along for the fun too."

"Really? That's so cool! Thanks!" Katie threw her arms around Patrick's and Noah's necks and they blushed as they hugged her back. Patrick looked over at his twin, noticed that he was blushing, and quickly looked away.

'_Don't make a big deal of this, dude.' _Patrick thought to himself, shaking his head. '_You already said that you'd back off and let Noah have Katie. So __stop__ thinking about her._'

"Great, now Katie has _two_ dates to this thing and I don't even have _one_!" James sulked as he threw his arms in the air.

"Don't panic yet," Rhuben stated as she and Riley looped their arms around James' waist. "We're good matchmakers and it helps that we're girls too." Kendall eyed Riley and turned to Logan to see if he was jealous or anything. But Logan had his thinking face on, so Kendall knew that he didn't even notice. "So we're going to help you get a date with Jo even if it kills us."

"If it kills you, can I have your skateboard and guitar?" Patrick asked Riley, smiling eagerly. She reached out her foot and kicked him in the butt. "Ow! I was just asking." He whined as everybody else started to laugh.

"Ok, how about this?" Logan got everyone's attention as he spoke up. "We take the most romantic environment that you can think of, plant those two in it and watch to see what happens." He continued his explanation when everyone stared at him. "Hear me out. Set up a candle-lit dinner and make sure that Jo goes."

"Ok, here's one thing that you need to know about girls." Rhuben stated as she grabbed her boyfriend's hand and gently patted it. "We may like the whole candle-lit dinner thing, but you want to save those for an anniversary."

"Yeah," Noah nodded in agreement. "If you do it too early, then the girl will get scared." He explained. "If you do it before you're even dating, that will just scar her for life."

"And you know this because?" Katie asked, looking slightly scared of the answer.

"Having listened to their rants about dating all the time you can't help but learn something." Sydney replied as he lightly hip-checked his sisters. "Besides, we've watched Julius dating as he grew up, before he met Brittany, and we've seen him crash and burn."

"Hey, maybe we can get him to help." Riley stated, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she turned and tilted her head back to look at James. "I'm sure that he would be glad to do it."

"Remember the last time that you said that he'd be glad to do something without asking him first?" Rhuben asked and the Jacksons thought back about the time that Riley had volunteered her brother for a charity event by making him dress up as a clown and getting pied in the face. He was so made that by the end of the day he chased Riley around and he got nicknamed It. Riley winced slightly when she remembered it.

"Ok, so maybe that's not a good idea, but we'll think of something." She replied.

* * *

"Coming!" Mrs. Knight called as there was a knock on the apartment door. She turned off the faucet and grabbed a dishtowel to wipe off her hands before hurrying over to the front door. "Hello Ronan." She greeted as she pulled the door open. "What brings you by?" she stepped back so Ronan could enter the apartment.

"Hello Kacy," Ronan returned the greeting with a smile. "I was looking for my kids," Ronan replied as he looked around, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Julius is waiting in the car and I said that I'd take them all to the mall as a reward for working very hard these past few months." He shrugged. "They haven't gotten a break in a while and I figured that this would kind of make up for it."

"Oh that's sweet." Mrs. Knight smiled warmly. "But they aren't here right now. I think they're trying to help James ask Jo to be his date for the movie premiere." She chuckled. "They think that I don't know about it, but I hear everything that goes on in this apartment building from Buddha Bob."

"Buddha Bob?" Ronan repeated as he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, he's the maintenance guy," Mrs. Knight replied. "I thought he was some axe murder at first because he had chopped up a jelly doughnut with an axe and I was scared of him for a while. But Katie and Kendall showed me that he-"she cut herself off when she noticed that Ronan was staring at her. "He's a good friend." She stated lamely.

"Oh, ok." Ronan nodded and then furrowed his eyebrows together. "Well, speaking of the movie premiere, everybody that works at Rocque Records gets to go and can bring a guest." He looked up and gave a charming smile. "Would you like to go with me?"

"To a movie premiere?" Mrs. Knight repeated and Ronan nodded. "Like with an actual red carpet and everything?" Again Ronan nodded. "That sound so cool!" she stopped when Ronan looked taken aback. "I mean, that sounds like fun." She cleared her throat. "I'd love to go."

"Cool," Ronan smiled warmly again. "Its tomorrow night and I know that Kendall and his friends have been invited, so there's going to be about two limos to pick everybody up from here."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow." Mrs. Knight replied with a bright smile and went back to washing dishes. Ronan studied her for a minute before leaving the apartment, almost getting run over by James, who was running away screaming, and Carlos who was chasing after him, waving a lasso over his head.

"Oh, hey Ronan." Rhuben greeted with a half smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you guys so we could go to the mall." Ronan replied as he brushed off his clothes, checking to make sure that he didn't have any footprints on his clothes. "Remember?" he added as he turned to the Jacksons, who looked back at him blankly. He sighed heavily. "I promised you could use my credit cards."

"I remember now." Patrick replied, beaming. Ronan smirked in reply and rolled his eyes as he turned and led them back down to the Palm Woods lobby. They passed Bitters, who watched them like a hawk with narrowed eyes

"So, are you guys bringing anyone to the movie premiere?" Julius asked as they all climbed into the minivan and headed off towards the mall.

"Logan and I are going together." Rhuben announced and then leaned forward to grab onto the back of Julius' chair. "This means that you have to show me how to put on a boutonniere again." Julius laughed.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want you to stab anyone again." He teased.

"I know," Noah rubbed the left side of his chest. "I never knew that those things could actually go through that thick jacket." He laughed as Rhuben hit him on the back of the head and then kissed him on the cheek.

"Noah and I are going with Katie," Patrick stated, not sounding happy or disappointed at the same time. "So we're going to need to get a corsage."

"I'm nine, I don't need a date." Sydney called from the back, smiling cheekily.

Ronan looked into the rearview mirror and noticed Riley sitting in the back with Sydney, her chin rested in her hand and glaring out the window. He was afraid to even ask, knowing that she could easily be mad enough to take it out on anyone. "Riley?" he asked gently. "Are you and Kendall going together?"

"No," Riley replied flatly as she let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair.

"You're not?" Julius asked as he twisted in his seat to look at her. Riley turned her gaze from the window and glared back at her brother. "Guess not." He replied quickly and turned back around, not wanting to upset her even more.

"Well, did he ask you?" Patrick asked as he twisted his head to look at her.

"No, and that's the reason why we're not going together." Riley replied as she set her jaw against the pointed stared at her siblings were giving her. She could already tell what they were thinking; they knew that Kendall already assumed that the two of them were going to go together and that's why he didn't ask her.

"So what are you going to do?" Rhuben asked finally.

"I'm going to go with someone else."

* * *

**A/N: Actually, you know what I decided to do? I decided to make each chapter a good blend of humor/angst so you don't have to worry about certain chapters being happy and others being sad. I hope you like it that way. Thanks for reading and I hope you guys review and enjoy it! ^-^**

**-Riley**


	13. Big Time Red Carpet Pt2: Preparing

**.:Chapter Thirteen – Big Time Red Carpet pt.2:.**

**

* * *

**The next day was the day of the movie premiere and as many celebrities were taking all day to get ready for it, Big Time Rush was taking things by stride and went to the studio to work on some of their songs, and met with their stylist to figure out what to wear that night, before heading over to Gustavo's office to meet with their publicist.

"Ok so, we've gone over everything," Big Time Rush's publicist, Julie, stated as she looked over her clipboard. "Oh," she noticed something and then pushed her glasses up her nose. "One more thing, you don't want the paparazzi to get a wind of your personal lives," she stated seriously. "Especially about your family, I can't tell you how many times that celebrities have had their words twisted around so it seemed like they hated their families."

"That's just rude." Carlos declared as he shook his head, causing Julie to laugh.

"Yes, it is," she agreed. "And if you keep your mouths shut about that and talk about your music, you should be good to go." She smiled as she tucked her pen behind her ear and scanned over her clipboard again.

"Thanks Julie, I think I can say that we'll make you proud." Logan said with a bright smile as he shook her head. He paused and looked over at his friends, who had made their way over to Gustavo's desk and was looking through it, before turning back to her with a nervous smile. "Let me rephrase that," he cleared his throat. "I think I can say that _I'll_ make you proud."

"That's good to know, Logan," Julie laughed as she stood up to go. "Just keep an eye on them." Logan sighed heavily.

"I always do." He replied before giving a short wave and turned back to his friends. "Guys, did you hear anything that she just said?" He waited to see if any of them had heard what he said, but they were still too busy going through Gustavo's drawers. He rolled his eyes, stuck his pinkies in his mouth and whistled shrilly. "Guys!"

"What?" Carlos, Kendall, and James asked as they lifted their heads to look at their smart friend.

"Did you hear anything that Julie just said?" Logan asked.

"Who cares," James replied with wave of his hand. He shoved Gustavo's phone into Logan's face. "He has Beyoncé on his phone. He looked like he was going to start hyperventilating. "Beyoncé! Do you know how much I would kill to go out with Beyoncé?" he looked thoughtful for a second. "Maybe I can ask her to be my date."

"What about Jo?" Kendall asked as he knitted his eyebrows together, looking over towards him, tossing a random notebook over his shoulder. He watched as loose papers went scattering all over the ground, shrugged carelessly and then turned back to James. "Were you ever able to ask her to go?"

James sighed heavily and Carlos, who was standing on his other side, was surprised. He had seen his friend depressed before, but not over a girl. He had been depressed when he lost his first lucky comb, and he had been depressed when he had to miss Kendall's 6th birthday party to go on a boring trip with his family. But this time he looked downright miserable.

"I tried asking her again yesterday, over the phone," James replied as he ran his fingers through his hair. "But she had to leave before I could ask her. So I don't know if I'm going to go with her."

"We'll figure something out," Logan stated as he started to back out of the room. "Now let's go before Gustavo catches us and realizes that there's something that he forgot us to do."

Once again the boys joked along with each other as they walked back to the Palm Woods, talking about who they were excited to meet, and who they thought would be wearing the same thing, as there were many people that ended up wearing the same dress or designer. And because it was mostly girls that did that, they were talking about what kind of cat fight there was going to be that night.

"There's Jo," Carlos stated when they walked into the Palm Woods. He pointed over to where she was sitting on a chair in the lobby, talking on her cell phone. "Ask her now."

"But," James started to hesitate as Carlos started to shove him towards her. James held his feet against the ground so his shorter friend wasn't able to move him. "She's on the phone that would be kind of rude." He gave a small smile as he looked over at her. '_She looks so good today,_' he thought wistfully. '_It would be so awesome if she was my date_.'

"Oh my god, this is getting ridiculous!" Kendall grabbed James' arm and pulled him over towards Jo, ignoring the protests that his friend was giving him. When Jo saw them coming, she said something into her phone and then rested it on her ears.

"Hey guys," she greeted and then looked confused. "Why are you dragging James behind you-"

"Let's just cut to the chase, shall we." Kendall interrupted. "You want to go to the premiere with James, right?" He didn't give Jo a chance to answer as he turned to his friend, who seemed to be trying to hide his face behind his long hair. "And James, you want to go with Jo. Now that we've got that over with, you two are going together," he turned back to Jo. "The limo will be picking us all up at 6:00. Bye."

He turned and dragged his friend to the elevator and Logan and Carlos squeezed in with them. "Kendall, you can let me go now." James said and wrenched his arm out of his friends grip. "What did you do that for? Now Jo will think that I can't ask anyone out on my own."

"No, she'll just be happy that you finally asked her," Logan replied with a sly smile on his face. "Now we can focus our attention on what really matters."

"What's that?" Carlos asked as he looked at his reflection in the elevator mirror and tilted his helmet so it fell just so over his face.

"First one back to the room gets to decide what the others have to do as their servants." Logan replied and shoved through his friends as the elevator doors opened.

He didn't have to look behind him to know that his friends were running to catch up to him as fast as possible. James started to pull ahead of his friends, as his legs were longer, but Carlos, in a last ditch effort to win, jumped onto James' back, sending the two of them to the ground, with just enough time for Logan to dive forward and slap the doorknob to win, a split second before Kendall's hand got there.

"Whoo! I won!" Logan shouted, punching the air with his fists.

"What?" Kendall looked shocked. "Are you totally blind? I _so_ got there before you!"

"Well, I would have won if Carlos didn't jump onto my back." James complained as he pulled himself up off of the floor. "And because I would have won, I think I should be the one that wins."

"No way!" Logan replied and jokingly grabbed his friend in a headlock. The four of them fell to the ground, giggling like little kids as he shoved each other. The door opened and Katie stuck her head out the door, shaking it as she stared at her brothers.

"You guys are _so_ weird." She sighed as she rested a hand on her hip.

"Thanks Katie, I love you too." Kendall replied sarcastically as he pulled himself up off of the ground. He blinked as he walked into the apartment and saw clothes lying all over the apartment. "Did James' closet blow up again?"

"No," Katie shook her head. "This is all moms' stuff," she replied and smiled a little as she turned to face her older brother. "She's trying to decide what to wear tonight."

"Mama Knight is going to the premiere too?" Logan asked as he caught a shirt that was flying towards his face. They all winced when they heard a crash and Mrs. Knight's frustrated scream.

"Yeah," Katie nodded. "She's going with Ronan, so I guess she wants to make a big impression on the other celebs and their guests while there." She looked thoughtful for a second. "Either that or it's because that she doesn't want to look like a mom."

"I'll go with the second one." Carlos replied with a laugh as he walked over to the refrigerator. "I would hate it if you guys were my kids."

"That's good to know." Kendall replied, making a weird face.

"Hey Kendall?" Logan called from where he was sitting at the table, looking at his phone. "Are you going to the premiere with Riley?"

"Yeah," Kendall replied as he turned and directed the weird face to Logan. "She's my girlfriend," he paused. "Kinda, and I figured that you would have known that by now." He paused again. "Why?" Logan looked apologetic as he lifted his head and waved his cell phone around. "Because Bella just sent me a text and she said that Landy's not going with you."

* * *

"Come on, say She Sell Sea Shells down by the Sea Shore." Patrick grinned as his blue eyes sparkled with mischief. He poked Riley in the cheek. "Come on, say it."

"Shut up" Riley replied, her voice coming out very squeaky. She glared as he started laughing again. "Patrick, I'm warning you."

"What are you going to do?" Rhuben teased from where she was sitting across from Riley in an arm chair, she was grinning too. "Squeak at us?"

"You're going to regret this!"

"Riley," Ronan walked into the room, holding two ties over his shoulders. He placed his hands on his hips as he look at the eldest girl. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop talking? That's probably what made you lose your voice in the first place."

"No, it was her bossiness that made her lose her voice." Noah replied cheekily.

Patrick, Noah, and Riley were sitting on the couch, watching TV, Sydney was sitting on the floor at their feet, and Rhuben was sitting in a chair across the room. Earlier that day Riley had lost her voice in the recording studio and of course her brothers and sister would make fun of her for it.

"When's Julius getting back from the airport?" Rhuben asked with a chuckle as she turned to Ronan, resting her cheek on her arm.

"Whenever the LA traffic lets him get home," Ronan replied looking distracted. "What tie do you think looks better? The red or the blue?" he held the two ties in his hands and raised and lowered them over and over again as the Jacksons looked at it.

"That depends," Patrick replied as he got up and inspected the two. "You're going with Mrs. Knight, right?" He smiled when Ronan nodded in reply. "What color dress is she wearing?"

"Is matching a girl's dress really that important?" Ronan asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yes!" Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney chorused as Riley nodded her head in agreement.

"Then I'm going to have to find that out," Ronan replied with a sigh as he put the ties back over his shoulders again. "Geez, there's always so much work for a guy when all you have to do is just meet someone and talk to them all night long." He shook his head as he turned and walked back out of the room.

"Come on," Patrick pleaded as he turned back around to face Riley. "Say the rhyme and I'll leave you alone!" Riley glared at him and lifted her arm, giving him the finger. Patrick pretended to catch it and patted his closed fist against his cheek, causing Noah to laugh and give him a high-five.

Noah looked down towards the floor and noticed that Sydney was staring at the TV, but didn't seem to be focused on it, biting his thumbnail. Noah reached out his foot and gently shook his baby brother's shoulder. "Something on your mind?" he asked when Sydney turned his attention to him.

"No, I was just thinking." He replied quietly.

"Well," Rhuben sighed and grabbed the remote. She put the TV on mute and then turned back to her little brother, when everyone had their attention. "That pretty much means that you're thinking about something." She got out of the chair and sat next to him on the floor. "What's up?"

"I was just thinking about our dad going to jail and how we publicly announced that we were being abused," Sydney replied slowly as if he was still trying to form a sentence. "What if while we're at the premiere, instead of them asking who we're wearing or what our careers are going to bring us, they ask about our abuse?"

"Just ignore them." Riley rasped, showing that even if she was losing her voice, it wouldn't change her natural response of being a leader.

"Isn't that kind of rude?" Noah asked as he knitted his eyebrows together.

"That's the point." Riley replied as she flicked him on the nose.

"That's what I was thinking," Rhuben replied and she sighed before bringing Sydney into her arms and hugging her tightly. "Here's the trick to reporters, and Riley and I learned this the hard way, they like to twist everything that you say around." She explained as she looked over at Patrick and Noah, who were listening intently to her. "So you want to avoid the paparazzi type people and head over to magazines that you know want the truth. Like PopTiger, Seventeen, and Bop. You can be sure that they'll ask about our careers and how we interact with each other rather than our personal lives."

"But you _do_ know that they're going to ask about your guys' dating Logan and Kendall." Patrick pointed out.

"That's true." Sydney added as he reached up and poked Rhuben in the cheek. "What are you going to do about that?" he giggled as he pulled his hand back as Rhuben snapped her jaws shut, pretending to bite his finger.

"Tell the truth," She replied and then turned to Patrick and Noah with a teasing smile. "Besides, _those two_ are going to have the most trouble when it comes to their question over whether or not one of them is actually dating Katie."

Sydney giggled again as he turned to Riley, who just let out a smile. "Aren't you going to say something?" He smiled when Rugby, her dog, bounded over the back of the couch and landed on her lap, causing her to grunt in pain.

"I thought I was supposed to stay quiet." Riley commented and then made a frustrated sound when her voice cracked. There was a meowing sound and Rhuben's cat walked around the couch and rubbed itself against her back. Rhuben smiled and ran her fingers through his fur before turning to her twin.

"Since when has that stopped you?" Rhuben joked and laughed when her sister glared over at her. Sydney launched out of Rhuben's lap when the doorbell rang, opening his mouth to say something. "Doorbell!" she said at the same time as Riley, Patrick, and Noah.

Sydney pouted and stomped his foot on the ground, puffing up his cheeks. His siblings looked back at him, grins on their faces, and he sighed loudly, exaggerating an eye roll that he had seen his sisters do a million times before turning to the door. "I'll get it!" he called as he raced towards the door. "Maybe it's Julius and Brittany."

"Then why would he ring, you muffin?" Noah asked as he turned his head to call over his shoulder. Sydney stopped and placed his hands on his hips.

"Maybe his hands are full," he replied and stuck his tongue out. "Duh"

"Did I just get dissed by a nine year old?" Noah asked as turned to his brother, looking amused. Patrick looked over at his twin with an odd expression on his face.

"Why are you so surprised, it happens all the time." He replied.

"Good point."

"Hello?" Sydney asked as he pulled open the front door and poked his head around, just in case it was a stranger. He had learned from his time with his father around that he shouldn't open the door fully to let someone in the house. He had learned that the hard way after the five of them had left their father out.

"_H-Hello?" Sydney whispered as he opened the front door. He didn't see anyone on the porch and ventured to stick his head out even further, looking around. Before he could move he was slammed back against the doorframe, his father's arm pressing into his throat._

"_I'll teach you for locking me out you little brat!" His father snarled as he brought a hand up behind his head._

"Sydney? Are you ok?" Sydney blinked and shook his head as he looked up at Kendall with a bright smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied and forced his smile to grow even wider. "I was just thinking about some banana pudding that's left for me in the refrigerator." He looked thoughtful. "What brings you by? We aren't supposed to be leaving for another three hours." He added as he looked at his watch.

"I was looking for Riley actually," Kendall replied as he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked uncomfortable. "Is she around?"

"Yeah, hold on." Sydney closed the door a little bit before turning around and skipped back towards the living room. "Ri-Ri, someone's at the door for you." Riley barely looked away from the TV. "It's Kendall." He smirked as Riley winced a little bit and refused to move. "He knows you're here so you might as well go."

Riley sighed and got off of the couch, Rugby trailing behind her. She grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open, just as Rugby moved forward to sniff around Kendall's feet. "What?" she asked when she saw him.

"Hey," Kendall replied as he took a small step back, making sure that Rugby didn't knock him over. "I, uh, I came by to talk to you about the movie premiere tonight."

"What about it?" Riley asked flatly.

Kendall looked right into her eyes and felt frustrated when he couldn't see if something was bothering her. Before he had left, Logan had given him the instruction to keep trying to get Riley to talk to him, even if she didn't want to because she would crack after a while, and try to look into her eyes to see if there was anything bothering her. According to him, Riley and Rhuben were really easy to read from their eyes.

"Well, Logan said that we weren't going together," Kendall replied and waited to see if Riley would say something. When she didn't, he continued. "And I thought we were."

"You _thought_ we were," Riley repeated and then leaned against the doorframe. "You shouldn't go assuming things," she replied and then Kendall knew that's what was wrong. "Besides, I'm going with someone else."

"Y-you are?" Kendall felt really uncomfortable now. Riley stared back at him. "Oh, well, then I guess this was for nothing." He pulled a bouquet of daisies out from behind his back. Kendall looked over at her and he could see that her eyes lit up a little bit. "Going out and getting your favorite flowers for no reason…" he continued.

"Wow, you're so easy to fool." She stated, cracking a smile.

"You mean you're not going with anyone else?" Kendall asked with a hopeful smile. Riley shook her head as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Then why did you say that you were?"

"Because I wanted you to see why you shouldn't just go ahead and assume things." She replied as she scratched her forehead, trying to hide her large smile.

"Well then," Kendall moved the bouquet forward. "Would you like to go to the premiere with me?"

"Sure." Riley smiled as she took the bouquet from him and started to go back inside. She turned around and waited. He laughed a little bit as he pointed at her.

"What happened to your voice?"

"Oh," Riley blushed a little bit. "I lost it during rehearsal today." She rolled her eyes. "My brothers and sister say it's because I was being too bossy." She shrugged. "I've just been singing to hard lately. No big deal. I'll see you later."

"Bye." Kendall smiled and started his walk back to the Palm Woods.

Sydney, who was sitting on the edge of the stairs, smiled as his sister walked by to go put her flowers in a vase to fill with water. Rhuben, Patrick, and Noah got off of the couch to hurry after her, asking what had happened. Sydney's smile wilted a little bit as he rubbed his hands together. He got up off of the stairs and walked to his room, closing the door behind him. He leaned against the door, thinking as his eyes trailed the room. Instinctively they stopped at the corner of the room where it held a wheel chair. He stared at it, scowling, and his blue eyes that usually held innocence and happiness were now burning as he stared at the chair.

He turned and made his way across the room to his mirror and took off his shirt before turning around, craning his neck to look at his back. Everything was the same as it always was. The tattoo was there, and so was the scar.

The long scar that ran from his left shoulder down to his right hip.

"If everything else can go away, to make us forget," Sydney whispered to himself as he stared at the scar. "How come our scars, physical and mental won't go away?"

He turned back around and stared at his front, no visible scars there, that was the genius of his dad's plan.

"_What if while we're at the premiere, instead of them asking who we're wearing or what our careers are going to bring us, they ask about our abuse?"_

"_Just ignore them." _

"_Isn't that kind of rude?"_

"_That's the point."_

"It's easier said than done." Sydney muttered to himself before going to his closet to get ready for the premiere.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well as the last one although it was a little bit shorter. To MysticMelody101, I know that it seemed all of a sudden that these chapters were made and that it didn't flow with the story, but it was to show how the Jacksons are still apprehensive/embarrassed about their abuse and how the public now knows about it. I just didn't get to it until this chapter. Sorry if that confused you. I wanted this chapter to show a bit about Sydney, so you guys could get to know him more and here it is. There's one more part of the Big Time Red Carpet chapters, and it has more angst than humor in it.**

**-Riley**


	14. Big Time Red Carpet Pt3: ExGirlfriend!

**.:Chapter Fourteen – Big Time Red Carpet pt.3:.**

**A/N: This chapter is mostly centered around Patrick, Noah, and Katie.**

**

* * *

**"Where's my tie? Has anyone seen my tie?"

"I can't find my hat!"

"Patrick, give me that back! It's mine!"

Rhuben chuckled as she stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her. Of course her house was always loud, but when it came to having to get dressed for a special event, it seemed to get louder as everyone ran around trying to get everything ready. Plus with two bathrooms and six kids, plus Brittany, Julius' girlfriend, and Ronan, it was hard when it came to see whose turn it was to take a shower. Rhuben continued to laugh as she heard her sister's squeaky yell to get Patrick and Sydney to stop shouting at each other.

"Move aside, I need that!" Julius declared as he barged into the bathroom, grabbing onto the stick of deodorant that his little sister was holding. Rhuben made a sound of protest as he stuck it under his arms and started to apply it.

"Give that back!" she declared as she reached for it, this time making the sound of annoyance as Julius held it out of her reach. "I don't use _your_ deodorant!"

"That's because you don't want to smell like a man" Julius replied teasingly as he moved it to his other arm pit.

"And you want to smell like a girl?" Rhuben teased back as she raised an eyebrow.

"What can I say?" Julius shrugged and tossed the deodorant back at his sister. "Brittany likes the smell of girl's deodorant on me rather than men's." He looked over his shoulder and leaned forward with a large smile. "Between you and me, Munchkin, I think that's extremely weird."

"Whatever," Rhuben shoved her brother out the door. "Get out of here!" she looked at the deodorant in her hand and then made a face. "Ew! Julius! You got a hair on it!" she shouted after him as he laughed and went back to his room. Rhuben made a sound of disgust as she went over to hers and Riley's bedroom. "Bathroom is free!" she shouted as she went.

"Would everybody _please_ stop shouting?" Ronan's voice wafted from downstairs. "I can't even hear myself think!"

"Well you're shouting too, Ronan, so I don't see how that's going to help anything!" Riley shouted back and smiled when she heard Brittany's laughter from the kitchen as Rhuben closed the bedroom door. "You're not ready yet?" Riley asked as she turned away from the mirror where she was doing her makeup. "The limos are going to be here in like ten minutes."

"Blame Patrick, he was the one that got the bathroom before me," Rhuben replied as she went to her closet to start getting dressed. "And you know how long he takes in the shower." She rolled her eyes. "Making sure that each hair follicle is shampooed and conditioned is going a little over the top."

"A little?" Riley snorted as she picked up a bottle of foundation. She studied it for a second and then turned around to face her sister as she wiggled into her dress. "Hey, does this dress show the scars on my back?" Rhuben looked over at her and nodded wordlessly. "Then I'm going to need your help putting this on."

"Kay," Rhuben replied and then paused. "Hey stupid, it might have been a better idea if you had put the stuff on _before_ your dress." She laughed when Riley had a dumbstruck look on her face. "You didn't think of that did you?"

"Apparently not."

* * *

"Can we _please_ get going?" Patrick shouted as he dropped his head down onto the kitchen table. He looked up as Brittany McNabb, Julius' girlfriend, giggled at his antics. "What's so funny?" he asked with a smile as he lifted his head off of the table.

He liked Brittany a lot and knew that she was perfect for Julius. When the two of them had met when Julius was in high school they argued with each other constantly, and then they became friends and started to date. Julius was nervous the first time that he had brought Brittany home, thinking that his brothers and sisters would embarrass them, but they all got along just fine. Now Brittany was like another member of the Jackson family and like another older sister. Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney wouldn't be surprised in the least if they ever got engaged.

"You are," Brittany replied as she pulled his hat off of his head and lightly rapped his knuckles against his forehead. "What's going on? Why are you in such a hurry?" she replaced his hat. "You've gone to movie premieres before." She smiled slyly. "Or is this because you're going with Katie?"

"It's not a date," Patrick replied with a frown. "Because she's Noah's date too." He scratched his forehead and started to explain. "It's weird, because I told Noah that he could go ahead and ask her out if he wanted to, but that was before I realized how much I liked her myself, now I don't know what to do."

"If it were me," Brittany replied after thinking for a second. "I say both of you just give up, because it's not worth it if you lose your friendship over a girl, especially since you're brothers. Twins at that," she added. "Which makes you closer than other brothers out there."

"What's going on?" Julius asked as he walked into the kitchen, tying his tie. "Where's Ronan?"

"I was just giving your brother advice," Brittany replied as she stood up and gave her boyfriend a kiss before looking at his tie and straightening it. "And Ronan went to see how far away the limos were."

"Alright," Julius replied and kissed the side of her head, pulling her close to him. "You look really beautiful you know." He added with a warm smile.

"Trust me, I know," Brittany replied and then smiled and winked over at Patrick mouthing 'suck up'.

Patrick smiled in reply and then turned around when Sydney walked into the kitchen, staring at the floor as he tried to button the front of his dressy vest which was sitting over a blue button down shirt and black pants. His black hair had been gelled back out of his face, courtesy of his brothers. Patrick placed a hand on his baby brother's head, stopping him, and started to button the vest himself. He peered into Sydney's face and immediately knew that something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Little Man?" he asked worried.

"Nothing," Sydney replied in a mumble.

"I'm smarter than you give me credit for," Patrick replied looking offended as he finished and sat back in his seat. "Now what is it?"

"Really," Sydney looked up into Patrick eyes. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Patrick questioned, studying him closely.

"Yes!" Sydney snapped. "I'm not a baby," he paused. "And since dad's around I don't really have the need to act like one anymore." He smiled a little. "I can finally act my age. Don't get me wrong, I still need you guys. But I'm fine."

"If you say so." Patrick let the matter drop but he was sure that something was wrong. '_According to Julius he spent a lot of time looking in the mirror before getting ready to go today. And every time one of us does that, I know it's because we're looking at the scars that our dad gave us._' He sighed heavily. '_I don't know why we always pretend that our abuse never happened. After a while it's just going to keep coming back to haunt us._'

A hand landed on his shoulder and he jumped, letting out a little scream as he turned to face his twin, who cracked a smile. "Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack?" he asked as he held a hand over his chest, trying to catch his breath.

"No, but that would be a serendipitous side effect," Noah replied before holding up a silver studded belt. "Here, Riley wanted me to give this to you, so we matched, but not at the same time." Patrick looked down and noticed that Noah was indeed wearing a gold studded belt. Patrick stared at the belt, not taking it, just watching as it swung back and forth, as if it was hypnotizing him. He flinched as he took a breath and took the belt from his brother, sliding it into his belt loops. Noah looked over at Julius, Brittany, and Sydney before taking a step closer to his brother. "You were thinking about dad weren't you?"

"How could you tell?" Patrick replied as he raised his eyebrows.

"Because I'm your twin, I can always tell what you're thinking." Noah replied as if it was obvious. "What's going on? Are you ok?"

"You can't possibly tell me that you haven't thought about dad even if he's rotting in jail!" Patrick snapped, his voice rising a little bit. Julius ran a hand over his face, holding onto to Brittany tighter as if he was waiting for a full blown argument. "Sorry, I'm just a little on edge." He apologized quickly. "I always think that he's just going to jump out of nowhere to attack us again."

"It's alright," Noah placed a hand on Patrick's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Just don't forget that you can talk to me if something is wrong."

"Yeah, fine." Patrick replied shortly. Noah frowned but didn't push the issue any further. The two of them looked up as Riley and Rhuben walked into the kitchen. Sydney smiled as he skipped over to the two of them and gave them hugs.

"You two look beautiful." He beamed.

"Thanks Syd." Rhuben smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "We passed Ronan on the way in and the limos are here. So we better get going."

"I'll get the corsages," Patrick announced and went over to the refrigerator as everybody else trooped out of the room. He grabbed onto the door handle and pulled it open with a sharp tug.

"_Let me go!" Patrick wailed as his dad dragged him by the back of his shirt across the kitchen floor. "You're __hurting__ me!"_

"_That's the point," Robert laughed hollowly. "Geez, you're __so__ stupid!" He lifted his son up in his enclosed fist and punched him across the face. He pulled open the freezer door and lifted Patrick further off of the ground. "Maybe this will shut you up for a while." He shoved Patrick forward and pressed his face into the freezer as he closed the door enough so that he couldn't move._

"_Let me go! It hurts!" Patrick wailed as his tears started to dry on his face as the cool air wafted around him. He tried to move, but he could feel the skin on his chin had gotten stuck to the ice. "It hurts!"_

Patrick sighed and shook his head and grabbed the corsages and boutonnieres from the refrigerator. They didn't really need the stuff, but the Jacksons were classy and they always liked getting flowers.

"I just hope Katie likes it," Patrick sighed to himself as he looked at the little yellow flowers through the plastic box. There was the sound of a horn being pushed impatiently and he let out another sigh, along with a roll of his eyes, before hurrying out the door.

* * *

"How hard is it to tie a tie?" Katie asked as she rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands, watching as Kendall and his friends tie each other's ties for each other. She giggled as James looked at the back of it, as if he was looking for an instruction manual. "I mean, it's not like there's some sort of special code needed for it."

"Carlos, you're choking me!" Logan gasped as Carlos frantically twisted Logan's tie back and forth around his neck.

"Meh, so we'll have one less member of the band," Carlos shrugged carelessly. "It's not like we can't replace you anyway." Logan made a face, but couldn't help laughing as Carlos grinned so widely at his friend. That's what the good thing about Carlos was, even if you felt like you didn't want to smile, he always did something to make you laugh.

"I'm ready," Mrs. Knight called as she walked out of the bathroom, looking her purse. She smiled and spread her arms out wide. "How do I look?"

"You look great, mom." Katie replied with a wide smile.

"And?" Mrs. Knight prompted as she looked over at her son.

"That you haven't had any kids." He replied in a robotic voice as he laughed and shook his head. "Seriously, mom, you look great."

"Yeah, you look hot." Carlos agreed, causing everybody to look at him with weird expressions on their faces. "I mean, not that mom's can look hot. I mean, not that you don't. I mean-" Carlos started to stutter when he realized that what he was saying was making him look even worse than before.

"Just ignore him," James slapped a hand over his friend's mouth. "Remember when we said that we weren't sure if he was dropped on his head?" he asked and Mrs. Knight and Katie nodded. "According to my mom when we were younger we may have _accidentally_ pushed him off of a ladder. So it's our fault that he's like this."

"Thanks Kendall, I'm blaming you." Katie stated as she turned to her brother.

"What?" Kendall yelped. "What are you blaming me for?"

"If it has something to do with a plan and a ladder, then I'm almost positive that it was your fault." Katie replied with a smug smile. Kendall looked like he was going to deny it, but then smiled and nodded as if he was proud of the memory. There was a buzzing from Katie's bag and she dug into it looking for her phone. She pulled it open and read the text message before putting it back in her bag. "The limos are here, it's time to go!" she announced,

"Whoo! Let's go!" James cheered as he punched the air. Katie giggled again and grabbed her mom's hand as the two of them followed the four giddy boys to the elevator. Their excited voices echoed off of the metal walls as they rode down to the lobby and met Jo, Camille, and Stephanie there.

"You look hot as always," Carlos grinned as he greeted Stephanie with a kiss and a hug.

"Thank you," Stephanie giggled in reply and threw her arms around his neck in a hug. "You look hot yourself." She added and took her video camera out of a bag and panned in on his face. "How excited are you to be going to the premiere tonight?"

"Very excited." Carlos replied, getting right up into the face of the camera.

"You look great too, Jo." James stammered a little bit as the blonde laughed and thanked him. He hesitantly put an arm around her waist and relaxed when Jo smiled and moved closer to him.

"Camille, did you ever get a date?" Katie asked as they all walked outside to get into the limos. "Because if you're alone, you can always hang with Patrick, Noah, and me."

"And ruin your semi-double-date?" Camille teased and laughed. "Thanks for the offer, but I do have a date tonight." She smiled as one of the limo doors opened and Sydney slid out of the car, holding out his arm towards her.

"Your limo awaits, Madame." He said with a smile so big his dimples were the deepest ever. Camille giggled and took his outstretched arm. Sydney snapped his fingers as then turned to Mrs. Knight. "Ronan and Julius and Brittany are in that limo," he said as he pointed. "We figured that you didn't want to have to listen to us scream and shout at each other on the way to and back from the premiere."

"Thanks Sydney." Mrs. Knight smiled. "And may I say that you look really handsome."

"Thank you." Sydney beamed and helped Camille get into the limo before everyone else piled in.

"Whoa, this is so cool." Katie gushed as she looked around the limo. She looked up and noticed that the ceiling of the limo had a mirror. "Why would a limo need a mirror?" she asked as she continued to look around, specifically eyeing the TV.

"I don't even want to know, really." Patrick replied with a little laugh and handed her a plastic box. "Here's your corsage." He said with a smile.

"We got you a yellow one if that's ok," Noah added quickly as he gauged the reaction on her face. He hated to second guess whether or not someone was happy about something but that was his second nature. Especially when it came to his dad, you could never tell whether or not he was happy if he was just sitting somewhere, staring at you. "God" he muttered under his breath, punching his thigh. '_Stop thinking about dad!_' he scolded himself.

"You ok?" Katie asked as she looked at him in concern. Noah quickly rubbed his hands over his face and sat back, taking in a breath.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired," he replied quickly. "And my leg fell asleep a little bit."

"You sure?" Katie grabbed onto his wrist and he smiled gently.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He replied and then decided to change the subject. "So, don't be surprised if people ask you questions."

"Me?" Katie raised an eyebrow. "I don't really do anything interesting, why would I get asked questions."

"Well," Patrick shrugged. "It's because you're the little sister of one of boys in the new upcoming boy band, and you're our friend." He smiled teasingly. "You're bound to get some questions asked."

At that point, Jo got everyone attention, asking who they thought would be at the premiere and they all started shouting out suggestions of who they did want to see and who they didn't want to see. All of the guys agreed that they would love to see Megan Fox, and the girls quickly shot back saying that they would like to see George Clooney.

Katie smiled as she looked around at her friends. Jo and James looked like they were having a good time, although Katie could tell that he looked really nervous. Logan, Rhuben, Kendall, and Riley all looked very comfortable and happy. Happier than Katie had seen the two girls before and just because they were her friends, she was happy for them. Sydney and Camille were cute together as Sydney acted way mature than most boys his age, but of course nothing would happen between the two of them. But Katie was still having her own problems.

'_I still don't know who I would choose if I had to choose between the two of them_' she thought to herself as she watched the two of them talk and laugh with each other. '_They both look really good tonight and they're both so sweet. Why do they have to be twins? If they were one person I would be perfectly fine._'

"Hey, we're here!" Sydney declared as he pressed his face against the window. Outside there was lots of screaming fans, photographers, and celebrities already walking the red carpet. The voices were muffled, but that just amplified everyone's excitement. "C'mon!" he practically kicked the limo door open and slid out, before turning back around and grabbing Camille's hand as she started to move out of the limo.

One by one Big Time Rush, the DarkElements, Jo, Stephanie, and Katie got out of the limo, facing the bright flashes of light and the photographers that were shouting to get their attention. Ronan walked up with Mrs. Knight as did Julius and Brittany.

"Gustavo and Kelly are around here somewhere," Ronan called over the noise. "And we have interviews and stuff for about a half hour before the movie starts, so go and have fun and we'll meet you inside." With that, he led Mrs. Knight over to the photographer and interviewer from the Rolling Stones magazine.

"C'mon," Patrick and Noah put their arms around Katie and walked onto the red carpet, smiling as cameras flashed, waved to some fans, and even signed some autographs.

"Patrick, Noah, over here!" a woman with frizzy red hair and coke bottle glasses called.

"That's an interviewer from PopTiger magazine," Noah said as loud as he could so Katie could hear him. "She's always the ones that interviews us, so we know that she won't try and just get the dirt on our personal lives." He said as the three of them walked over to her. "Hey, how are you doing?" he asked when a camera and a microphone was shoved into their faces.

"We're doing great, is it ok if we ask you guys a couple of questions?" the woman asked.

"Fire away," Patrick replied with a warm smile.

"First off, let me just say that you boys look great tonight." The interviewer said, causing the twin boys to blush a little bit, causing Katie to giggle at seeing how embarrassed they are. "Your date for the night is Katie Knight? Younger sister of Kendall Knight from the boy band Big Time Rush?"

"That's correct." Katie replied with a nod. "I got to know these two after their band and my brother's band became friends and they're really good friends of mine."

"All of the Jacksons or just these two?"

"All of them," Katie laughed as she brushed her hair behind her ear. "They're all my friends, Riley and Rhuben treat me as if I'm their younger sister, Patrick and Noah are cool friends, and Sydney is the cutest thing I've ever seen."

"He gets that a lot," Noah added with a half smile. "So it's not surprising."

"And this is the first red carpet experience that I've ever had, and it's really exciting." Katie added with a bright smile, hoping that she wasn't getting blinded or deafened by all of the lights that were flashing in her face and the people that were trying to get her attention for pictures. "I'm thankful that these guys asked me to be their date tonight."

"That's good." The woman smiled and nodded. "Now that can you tell our fans about your music. It's taken a drastic turn from the dark and powerful CD that you've just gone on tour promoting."

"Yes," Noah licked his lips. "Broken Walls was a pretty dark CD, but at that time we were making it we were going through a few things personally," he explained, making sure that he didn't actually touch on the abuse. "But now this new CD is like a new chapter in our lives, its uplifting, the songs are our personal favorites, and they're easy to dance to."

"Plus Noah and I have a lot of duets on the new CD, so that should be cool for our fans out there." Patrick added. "Just to get a taste of the fact that the band is about all of us, not just one person in particular."

"Ok, I have one more question for you guys," the woman continued smiling warmly. "Are there any other projects that you guys are working on?"

"Well, we've already released this piece of news back home in Australia so we might as well say it here," Noah spoke up. "We're working on this new project, it's in its early stages, called Don't Stop Believing."

"It's named after the song that had gotten us recognized here in the US." Patrick jumped in. "And it's a campaign that all five of us and our brother Julius are fronting to show that no matter what your age is you shouldn't give up on your hopes and dreams.

"And we're a living example of that," Noah concluded. "Because we never gave up on our dreams of being a band, and look where that got us."

"Well thank you and I hope that you guys enjoy the movie."

"Thank you." Katie, Patrick, and Noah chorused as they turned away from the magazine reporter to take some more pictures.

"That was so cool!" Katie gushed as she waved to a few more people in the audience that was screaming for her attention. "Now I know why you guys like it so much." She turned to look for her brother and saw him and Riley talking to a reporter. "How much you want to bet that they're announcing that they're dating?"

"They deserve it," Patrick replied as he looked over in their direction and smiled. "Growing up, Riley and Rhuben have always acted like our mother's more than being teenagers, so they deserve to be happy right now."

"I'm sorry," Katie frowned a little bit. "I didn't mean to remind you guys about your dad."

"It's alright," Noah replied quickly before she got even more upset. "Let's just introduce you to a few friends of ours." He turned and pushed his way through the crowd before tapping someone on the shoulder. "Dak, I want you to meet someone."

Dak Zevon turned around and smiled when he saw Katie. "Katie, right?" he asked as he pointed at her. She smiled and nodded. "That's right, you saved me from all of those fan girls that were chasing me around Rocque Records at that photo shoot. Thanks."

"It's no problem." Katie replied with a smug smile as Patrick and Noah looked dumbstruck. "When's your movie coming out?"

"In a few months," Dak replied and then looked thoughtful. "Find me at the after party and then I'll get you guys free passes to the premiere of that."

"There's an after party?" Katie repeated. "This is just getting better and better. I don't think anything could ever top this!"

"Take good care of her guys and I'll see you later," Dak replied with a laugh and a hand shake for Patrick and Noah before turning to answer a reporter's question.

"When did you meet Dak?" Patrick asked as he wrinkled his nose in confusion. Katie was standing so close that she could see the tiny freckles that were on his cheeks. Usually you would have to be really, really, close to be able to see them.

"Oh, shortly after we moved here," Katie replied with a nonchalant wave of her hand. "But that's not news."

"Ok then." Noah replied as he turned after he head another reporter call his and Patrick's name. Patrick turned too and the two of them must have seen the same thing at the same time because they both gasped, eyes growing wide. Katie wasn't paying attention as she was signing an autograph for someone who wanted the signature of 'Kendall's little sister'. "Did...did you just see dad?" Noah stammered as he turned to his brother

"Yeah." Patrick breathed in reply. He shook his head as he suddenly got a headache and looked back again, but his dad was gone. "Guess it was just our imagination." he gave a half-smile. Noah nodded in reply but didn't say anything. They went over a reporter and talked to him, immediately taking thier minds off of what they had just seen.

The group continued to stop and take pictures and answer questions from the interviewers. Logan went as far as to stand by Carlos, Kendall, or James whenever they were being interviewed, just to make sure that they wouldn't say anything stupid or talk to the wrong kind of interviewer. He was pleasantly surprised that many of the interviewers wished him and Rhuben luck after they admitted to having started dating. Camille was happy because she had gotten some movie offers from all of interviews that she had done, Stephanie was videotaping the whole ordeal on her video camera so she would be able to send it back home to her family, and Jo was happy to admit that she was working on a CD of her own and had gotten positive feedback with the idea. Gustavo and Kelly, who were used to being interviewed and stuff, moved through the red carpet with ease. Mrs. Knight was slightly overwhelmed with everything that was going on, but with Ronan by her side he was able to make sure that she felt at ease and even let her answer a few questions when it came to being the mother of a boy that was going to make it big. Even Julius was interviewed a lot, with his decision of taking college classes online to help his siblings' career. With Brittany at his side, even the few mean comments didn't make the smile leave his face.

Soon they all went inside to the watch the movie and then headed over to the after party. It was held in a large warehouse. The music was so loud that you could feel the beat of it in your stomach. There was live entertainment from acrobats who were doing tricks up towards the ceiling and there was a lot of food and drinks so you wouldn't get too hungry or thirsty.

"I'm getting kind of tired," Rhuben shouted to Logan over the sound of the music, leaning close to him so he could hear.

"It's your own fault because you like to dance so much." Logan joked in reply. He couldn't really talk, he wasn't that great of a dancer but only agreed to it because he knew that it would make Rhuben happy. But he was better than Carlos, who just spastically flailed around.

"Yeah, yeah," Rhuben rolled her eyes. "Can we go outside and get some air?"

"I was thinking of suggesting that to James, actually." Logan laughed in reply and motioned over to the side. Rhuben followed his gaze and laughed when she saw James and Jo dancing close to each other before moving forward and kissing.

"All I can say is it's about time." Rhuben laughed as she looked around. She spotted Riley and Kendall dancing beside Carlos and Stephanie. "Let me just tell Riley where I'm going." She replied and moved through the crowd to get to her. "Hey Riles," she shouted in her sisters ear. "Logan and I are going outside to get some air!"

"Alright," Riley shouted back. "Julius and I'll keep an eye on Sydney," she looked around. "Although, with what time it is I'm sure that he's going to be crashing soon."

"Ok," Rhuben turned back to Logan and took his hand as he led her through the throngs of writhing bodies and outside to get some fresh air. "So, are you having fun?" She asked as she slid her arm around his waist, leaning into him.

"Yeah, this is all really cool." Logan replied and kissed her forehead. "The only thing that confuses me is that when we were younger you always said that you wouldn't turn into a fan girl when you met someone you liked," he stopped and smiled down at her teasingly. "Now is it my imagination or were you freaking out when you met Joshua Jackson?"

"Hey," Rhuben lightly hit him in the stomach. "I've wanted to meet Joshua Jackson for the longest time." She replied and then snorted. "Besides, no one was freaking out as much as Riley was. She couldn't even form a simple sentence." She smiled wryly. "Why, were you jealous?"

"Of course," Logan replied as he gently brushed her hair off of her shoulder. "I'm always jealous when I think of someone taking you away from me." He replied honestly as he smiled down at her, resting his forehead against hers.

"You don't have to worry about that." Rhuben replied with a smile of her own before standing up on her tip-toes and pressing her lips against his. Logan wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her back.

The two stood there, kissing each other for about two minutes before the sound of someone approaching got their attention.

"Logan?" Logan jerked back and turned around, his mouth falling open slightly when he saw a blonde girl standing behind him. He looked nervously at her and then at Rhuben as the girl smiled widely. "Wow, it's been such a long time." She looked over at Rhuben and then back at Logan. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Rhuben raised her eyebrow as she looked at the girl. Blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect figure. So of course she would think that Rhuben was just a friend, she probably chose to ignore the fact that the two were just kissing. She knew who that girl was before Logan even had to introduce them.

"Britt, this if my girlfriend, Rhuben." Logan cleared his throat nervously. "And Rhuben, this is my ex-girlfriend, Britt."

* * *

**A/N: And of course there wouldn't be a thing such a drama if an ex-girlfriend didn't come along. But I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter anyway. The next few chapters are filled with drama and angst and humor, and it's going to show more of Camille, Stephanie, Jo, Gustavo, Kelly, Ronan, Mrs. Knight, Julius, and Brittany. I'm trying to make them main characters, and that's sort of hard, but I'm doing the best I can. Thanks for reading!**

**Who do you guys think Katie should end up with; Patrick or Noah? Or should I keep the love triangle thing going?**

**-Riley**


	15. Big Time Boyfriends and Birthdays

**.:Chapter Fifteen – Big Time Boyfriends and Birthdays:.**

**

* * *

**"His ex-girlfriend? Seriously?" Camille asked as she tied her hair up into a ponytail before flopping down onto her sleeping bag. Rhuben, who was sitting on her bed, rolled her eyes as she moved her pillow from her stomach to behind her so she could lean back. "Was she pretty?"

"We're _still_ talking about this?" she snorted as she looked at her friends who were lying on the floor. "Yes, it was his ex-girlfriend." She waved a hand in the air. "Her name was Britt or something and I don't really care." It was Sunday and Jo, Camille, and Stephanie had decided to sleep over at the Jacksons house.

Well, they actually begged Riley and Rhuben, who had asked Ronan if they could sleepover, but it was pretty much the same thing. Ronan only agreed as long as Brittany said that she was still going to be around, and since she was on vacation from going to college back in Australia, she said that she could stay and watch them. That left Julius, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney with a choice of whether or not to stay at the house, wondering if they would be annoyed with a bunch of girls around. Julius said that he didn't mind, although Riley and Rhuben knew it would be one of the few times that he would have at least some time along with his girlfriend. Patrick, Noah, and Sydney decided to stay saying they didn't mind, but Riley and Rhuben also knew that they would just try to eavesdrop on their conversations.

"You don't care?" Jo laughed incredulously. "Either you have the most self confidence that I've ever seen or you're incredibly stupid." She shook her head as she continued, ignoring the offended look on Rhuben's face. "Ex-Girlfriends don't come into the pictures unless they want to get back with their ex, and they'll pretty much do anything to make sure it happens."

"And you can be sure that Logan is worried that something will happen," Camille added with a nod of affirmation. "He's been acting like some sort of…weirdo since she came around."

"Guys, this happened a week ago!" Riley finally spoke up, annoyed of the seriousness of the conversation. "Now we have more pressing matters to talk about?"

"Oh yeah," Stephanie lay down on the floor as she rested her cheek on her palm. "What's that?"

"Our birthday, which is at the end of the week," Riley replied as she grinned. "The only thing that I can say that I don't want is a clown." She shuddered for a second and then raised her eyebrows as she looked over at her sister. "Do you want a cake this year, or just go ahead with ice cream?"

"Carlos is going to throw a tantrum if he doesn't have cake," Stephanie pointed out. "So I'd go with the cake." She smiled fondly at the thought of her boyfriend and giggled. "Did you guys know that he once-"

"Hold on," Riley interrupted her as her cell phone rang. She reached over to her night table to grab it and knocked a bottle of pills off of it. "Hello?" she asked into the phone bringing it up to her ear. "Hey Logie." She replied after a second, causing Jo, Camille, and Stephanie to look over at Rhuben, as if to see her reaction. She just made a face back at him. "Hold on a second," she put the phone on her shoulder and turned to Rhuben. "He wants to know if we want to have joint birthday party, like we used to do."Rhuben thought about it for a second and then nodded and Riley put the phone back to her ear. "Yeah, that sounds cool." She paused. "Hold on." She took the phone from her ear and tossed it to her sister.

"Ok," Riley announced to Jo, Camille, and Stephanie. "Change of plans, our birthday party is going to be on Thursday."

"But your birthday is on Friday," Camille pointed out and Riley nodded as she brushed her hair back behind her ears.

"It is, but Logan's birthday is two days before ours, and what we used to do was have our birthday on the fifteenth, the day after his and the day before ours, and it falls on a Thursday this time." Riley explained.

"So, tell us another story of Logan when you guys were younger." Jo stated with a laugh. "I'd love to hear another one of those."

"Instead of that," Stephanie turned to face her friend with a sly smile. "Why don't you tell us about you and James? Is James as good a kisser s he boasts to be?" Riley, Camille, and Stephanie laughed as Jo blushed and looked down at her hands.

As Rhuben talked to her boyfriend on the phone, Stephanie noticed Riley looking for something and realized that she was looking for her bottle of pills. She got up from her sleeping bag and helped her look for it. She reached under Riley's bed and picked up the bottle, glancing at the label before Riley's hand came out of nowhere and grabbed the bottle.

"Just some asthma medicine," she explained quickly, averting her gaze from Stephanie's. Stephanie nodded quietly, but knew from being her friend for a while that she wasn't telling the truth.

There was a knock on the door and Patrick opened the door, sticking his head inside. "Riley, you need to-"

"I know," Riley interrupted and got off of her bed, following her brother out of the room.

"Yeah, yeah, bye." Rhuben closed her sister's phone and tossed it onto her empty bed. "Where did Riley go?"

"She went to do something with Patrick," Stephanie replied as she turned back to the younger twin. "What did Logan want?"

"He was just saying goodnight," Rhuben replied casually, but you couldn't miss the smile that was starting to form on her face. "What?" she asked in a huff when the other girls were quiet.

"Nothing." Jo finally replied, holding up her hands defensively.

"Right," Rhuben didn't press the matter anymore as she went to grab her mirror from the side of her bed to take out her contacts. She picked it up and jerked back when she looked into it, quickly looking over her shoulder. Seeing nothing there, she looked back into the mirror and then relaxed as she took out her contacts and slid on her glasses. "So, who wants to get some ice cream or something?" she asked as she got off of her bed, motioning for her friends to follow her.

"You just want us to stop talking about Britt, don't you?" Stephanie smiled knowingly as Rhuben denied it.

"Nah, I just want to spy on Julius and Brittany," she replied with an evil grin as she grabbed her camera off of her dresser. "I mean, you don't get many chances to make fun of your oldest brother if he's always working." Giggling, Jo, Camille, and Stephanie followed Rhuben out into the hallways, bumping into Riley along the way, who eagerly joined them when Rhuben explained what they were doing.

The five girls quietly tip-toed down the stairs and peered into the living room, smiling and trying to hold in their laughter when they saw Julius and Brittany making out on the couch. Rhuben brought her camera up to her face and started to take a few pictures. Snickering, Riley moved to stand at the other side of the doorway, but she tripped over Jo's legs and fell to the ground, causing Julius and Brittany to jump at the sound.

"Way to be a klutz, Ri." Rhuben laughed as she and her friends stepped out from behind the living room doorframe.

"Oh don't worry about me," Riley replied sarcastically as Jo helped her to her feet. "I'm fine!"

"You two are so dead!" Julius glared as he stood up, eyes on his twin sisters. Rhuben smirked as she walked over to her brother, holding onto her camera.

"Unfortunately, you can't do anything because I have photo evidence," she waved her camera around and Julius followed it with his eyes, still glaring. "And we all know that Ronan won't be very happy when he realizes what you two were doing when you were supposed to be watching us while he was out working."

"You really wouldn't do that to your brother would you?" Brittany asked with a laugh as she got up and stood by her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I mean, after everything that he's done for you guys."

"Yeah," Rhuben sounded bitter. "Go off to college while we got hit every day." The room suddenly fell into an uncomfortable silence as Julius stared hard down at his sister. Brittany noticed the tension and cleared her throat as she moved towards Jo, Camille, and Stephanie.

"Uh, how about we go get that ice cream while these three talk." She held a face of panic as she ushered the three girls out of the room. Riley stood next to her sister, her arms crossed over her chest and looking away, but it was obvious from the way that she was standing that she felt the same way that Rhuben did.

"Come here," Julius' face softened and he pulled Riley and Rhuben against his side, bending his head so they could hear him. "I know that you guys are still bitter over the fact that I was gone for a majority of the abuse that you guys had to go through, but you know that I worried about you guys every day."

"We know," Riley mumbled into his chest.

"It was just hard to know that you were happier than before and we were still miserable," Rhuben added. "And I guess we kind of resented you for that for a while."

"I understand," Julius kissed the girls' forehead. "But you know that I always thought about you guys, even my roommates felt that they knew you guys personally because I talk about all of you a lot." He laughed, which caused Riley and Rhuben to laugh too. "Are we cool?"

"Yeah." Riley smiled in reply.

"Good," Julius smiled back and paused. "So give me the camera."

"No way!" Rhuben pulled away from her brother and ran into the kitchen as he chased after her. She ducked behind Brittany and Julius screeched to a stop. "Come any closer and you know that Brittany will kick your ass!"

"That's not fair." Julius pouted.

"Yes it is," Rhuben replied, sticking out her tongue.

Brittany laughed and shook her head at their antics. "Rhuben, delete the pictures for you brother, Julius stop chasing your sister." She turned and pointed an ice cream scooper at Julius's nose. "You know you're the reason that they're always running around playing pranks on each other."

"Yeah, pretty much." Julius replied as he took the ice cream scooper and licked the ice cream off of the side.

Camille laughed and then turned towards the back door when she saw Riley's dog scratching at the metal. "Hey, Riles, I think your dog needs to go out."

"Alright," Riley grabbed a flashlight and went over to the backdoor, opening it and followed her dog outside.

"So," Brittany turned to Rhuben who was fiddling with her camera. "How are you doing with this whole Logan ex-girlfriend thing?" She noticed that Rhuben winced but didn't say anything. It just let her know that the whole thing was bothering her more than she was letting on.

"I'm still keeping my promise," Julius warned as he sat down on a stool, motioning for Brittany to make him a bowl of ice cream. "If he hurts you I hurt him."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that," Jo replied as she sprayed whipped cream on top of her ice cream. "Because Rhuben doesn't feel threatened at all."

"Seriously?" Brittany asked as she turned and stared at the raven haired girl.

"Yep," Rhuben replied simply. "I mean, Logan and I have been friends for forever and I would be able to tell if he still had feelings for his ex, which he doesn't." she explained. "So I'm fine."

"It's either that or you're just trying not to think about it so you don't drive yourself crazy," Julius replied through a full mouth. "Don't forget that I know you better than you know yourself. You can't fool me."

"That's good to know because I'm being serious." Rhuben insisted. "Now can we _please_ stop talking about it?" she jumped when the backdoor slammed shut and turned to see her twin standing at the door breathing heavily as Rugby padded over to his bed and flopped down onto it with a loud sigh. "Hey, you ok?"

"Me?" Riley looked up and noticed everyone staring at her. "Yeah, I'm fine." She forced a laugh. "There was just a rabbit out there and it scared me when Rugby chased it out of the bushes." She walked over to the counter. "Which bowl is for me?"

* * *

Before anyone knew it, Logan's, Riley's, and Rhuben's birthday was getting closer and closer and Kendall, James, and Carlos were planning on making it the best birthday ever. They felt bad enough as it is that Carlos and James were able to see their family on their birthdays, and Katie's and Kendall's family were always with them, and so were the Jacksons, so they wanted Logan to have a really, really good birthday. But finding a place to have it and what to have for the party was the hardest thing that they could ever come up with.

"No, Carlos, we're _not_ going skydiving for my birthday" Logan stated and smiled when Carlos looked crestfallen, slumping back onto the couch. It was the fifth idea that Carlos had given that day, and each and every one that he had suggested Logan shot down. There was only so much danger that you could suggest before the idea got old.

"Then what do you want to do?" James demanded. "You're not making this easy!" he grabbed onto his hair. "I mean, the first week that Gustavo has off and we're spending it trying to make you happy for your birthday when you're acting like you're not even excited for it." He shook his head. "This must be what happens when you have two girlfriends." He added.

Kendall's smile faded when he saw Logan' let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his eyes before glaring over at James. "I told you before, that Britt is my _ex_-girlfriend!" he snapped. "I have no feelings for her whatsoever."

"If that were true, then you tell her to leave you alone," James replied. "Instead of 'coincidentally' showing up wherever we go."

"It is a coincidence!"

"Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better."

"Hello, we're supposed to be planning a party here," Kendall changed the subject, seeing how uncomfortable his friend was getting. "Now, where can we have a party that's big enough for all of our friends and in a place that's really cool and is not being used?"

"Hello?" Katie, who was sitting in the chair, reading a book, turned to her brother with a 'duh' expression on her face. "You _just_ said that Gustavo is gone for the week, use his house, make sure you guys don't break anything, and clean it back up." She stood up and slapped her brother on the back of the head. "I mean, you house sat at his house before and he even gave you the key this time." She shook her head as Kendall smiled and nodded in agreement. "I can't believe I'm related to you sometimes."

"Whatever," Kendall replied as he turned back to his sister. "You call the Jacksons and tell them to get over to Gustavo's house, and we'll call Jo, Camille, and Stephanie to go over to. We have a party to finish setting up for."

Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos called up everybody that they need to and they arranged to meet outside of Gustavo's house. The Jacksons would most likely get there first as their neighborhood was close to his. Unfortunately, Mrs. Knight was out looking for a job, so they had to get someone to sit in the car with them to drive over to Gustavo's house. After a bit of trying to find someone and being unsuccessfully, Logan said that he would drive all of them there, as long as no one backseat drove and that he drove as slow as he wanted to make sure that he didn't get pulled over and get caught driving without a license.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Logan." Carlos declared as he slapped his friend on the arm as they walked over to Gustavo's house.

"Please, don't remind me, I'm going to feel guilty about this for a long time." Logan stated as he shook his head. "Let's just have this stupid party so we can get on with our lives."

"It's not a stupid party dude," Kendall looked over at his friend with wide eyes. "It's your birthday party," he paused. "And Riley's and Rhuben's too, but either way we're going to make it good. Besides," he shrugged. "We're just doing what Gustavo asked us to do and we're watching his house."

"Yeah, he just doesn't know that we're throwing a party too." Katie replied as she shifted the bag of decorations and gifts in her arms to make sure she didn't drop it.

"Details." Kendall replied dismissively and then waved when he saw the Jacksons sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, waiting for them. "Hey!" he called.

"Hi guys." Sydney waved back and then looked both ways before skipping across the street to give them all hugs. "I didn't know that Gustavo's house looked so cool. I mean, it's probably better than ours."

"That I doubt." Jo laughed as she mussed his hair.

"We'll never know unless we go in," Patrick stated as he stood up from the sidewalk, brushing off the seat of his pants. "Julius and Brittany said that they'll stop by later." He added and then smirked. "I think they wanted some time alone."

"Not that they can get much of it when we're around." Noah added and he and his twin laughed.

"Hey," Logan greeted Rhuben quietly, as if he was afraid that she would be mad at him. He gave a nervous smile as he ran his fingers through his hair. Rhuben looked offended.

"What? I don't get a hug?" she asked, holding out her arms. Logan smiled and hugged his girlfriend tightly. "Happy Birthday."

"Happy Birthday to you too," Logan replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek and then hugged Riley. "You too, Landy."

"Thanks." Riley replied, looking a little bit distracted. "Let's go in shall we?" she started to walk to the gate but crashed into Patrick, who stopped and looked at the sign on the front of the gate.

"Does that sign say what I think it says?" he questioned, pointing to the sign that read _Beware of Alligators_.

"Oh don't take any notice of that," Noah stated as he went to go and push through the gate. Patrick grabbed his twin by the wrist and pulled him back, eyeing him with an odd and slightly psychotic expression on his face.

"Then what's the point of having a notice that you're not supposed to take notice of?" he demanded, causing his younger twin to shrug in reply. "No, no, no that's it at least we tried." He turned and started to walk away, but Kendall grabbed onto him.

"Hang on," he declared, holding onto the back of Patrick's shirt to make sure that he didn't get far. "You want your sisters and your friend to have a good birthday don't you?" he continued when Patrick nodded. "Well, Gustavo's place is the only good place that we can go because Bitters isn't letting us have any parties at the Palm Woods anymore."

"Well there're a couple of words up there that I'm allergic to," Patrick replied indignantly and pointed to the sign. "Like _Beware_! Like _Alligator_!"

"It's only an alligator." Katie replied as she smiled a little bit. "What? Are you scared?"

"Yes," Patrick crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm man enough to admit that I'm scared."

"I don't see a man here." Sydney replied, causing everyone else to start laughing.

"Yeah," Camille looked at Kendall, James, Logan, Carlos, Riley and Rhuben pointedly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Didn't you guys tell me that the last time that you had watched Gustavo's mansion you were freaking out because you had set an alligator loose in the house?"

"Yeah, but all of these alligators are in the moat." Carlos stated as he pressed his face against the gate and looked inside. "If we go really quietly we should be fine." He took the key from Kendall and put it into the lock, unlocking the door and pushing open the gate. He looked around as he started to walk across the grass. "See, he's not around."

Riley shrugged and followed him as everybody else but Patrick trickled behind the two of them. Stephanie noticed that Patrick hadn't moved and turned back to her friend, brushing her long hair out of her face. "C'mon Patrick, it's not going to hurt ya!"

"What's it going to do then?" Patrick demanded. "Hug me to death?"

"Oh this is ridiculous," Noah rolled his eyes and brushed his hair out of his face before strolling back over the front lawn, grabbing Patrick's arm, heaving him over his shoulders, and walking back over to his friends. "Ok, not that we got that settled, let's start setting up and inviting people over."

"You're soooo going to pay for this," Patrick muttered darkly, still strung over his younger brother's shoulders.

"So what else is new?" Sydney asked as he rolled his eyes, giggling along with Katie as Rhuben took a picture of the two of them.

They all went inside and started to set up everything. Balloons, streamers, you know, the works. With everybody there to help it didn't take long to get done and soon all of the other guests arrived. When Mrs. Knight and Ronan got there they were disappointed of the fact that they had pretty much broken into Gustavo's house to have the party without his permission, but when they called Gustavo to tell him about it, he didn't sound annoyed. (That most likely meant that he was having a good time on vacation.)

Everything was going fine until they got an unexpected visitor.

"What's she doing here?" Riley muttered to Patrick as they watched Britt walk into the house, carrying a small box wrapped in gift wrap.

"I don't know," Patrick replied with a mouthful of cake as he followed her with his eyes, noticing that she was walking over to where Logan, Rhuben, Jo, and James were talking. "But this definitely can't be good." He nudged her and the two made their way over, just enough in ear shot so they knew what was going on.

"Britt?" Logan looked surprised when he saw his ex-girlfriend standing in front of him as she had shoved James and Jo out of her way. He suddenly felt very nauseous and nervous as he looked over at Rhuben, who seemed not to be bothered. "W-w-w-what are you doing here?"

"I came by to give you your birthday present," Britt replied as she handed him the box. "I went over to the Palm Woods to see where you went off to and someone said that you were having a birthday party." She then looked over at Rhuben. "I didn't know that it was your birthday too, I would have given you a gift if I had known."

"That's alright," Rhuben replied shortly. James and Jo exchanged a glance, both wondering how long it was going to take until she finally cracked and told the girl to leave.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" Britt asked as she flipped her blonde hair behind her shoulders and looked pointedly at Logan. He gave a nervous laugh and swallowed hard before opening the gift wrap. He opened the cardboard box and pulled out a small photograph of him and her when they were still dating. "I know our breakup was hard, but I wanted to give you this to show that we can be friends again."

"Thank You." Logan replied stiffly as he shoved it back into the box and set the box on the table with the other gifts that he and Riley and Rhuben have been given. "It's nice."

"Do you remember that day?" Britta pressed and laughed. "It was when we-"

"I don't remember it at all." Logan cut her off quickly, wrapping an arm around Rhuben's waist and holding onto her tightly. Britta noticed the gesture and let her smile falter a little bit.

"Oh," she sounded disappointed and then looked right at Rhuben. "Can you show me where the bathroom is?"

"Fine." Rhuben replied coolly and led her away from her friends and through the house, back towards the foyer, where the bathroom was. She pushed open the door and turned on the light. "Here's the-"

"How long have you and Logan been dating?" Britt demanded, glaring at Rhuben.

"A couple of weeks," Rhuben replied and then crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at her. "Not that it's any of your business. Why do you want to know?"

"Because there's no way that you're going to be dating much longer," Britt looked smug. "At least, not if I have anything to do about it."

"Excuse me?" Rhuben raised an eyebrow.

"Logan and I dated for a long time and I know that he's not over me," Britt replied with an evil smile. "Well, I'm not over him at least." She looked Rhuben up and down. "You're not even his type. You're not pretty and it's only a matter of time until he dumps you to come back to me."

"Oh yeah, well you-"

"So you might as well give up and break up with him now," Britt took a step forwards. "Or I'll just go and make your life miserable." She snorted, "What does he see in you anyway?"

"A lot more than he saw in you," Rhuben spat back. "Do _me_ favor and get out of my face, unless you want to have your teeth knocked out!" Britt just laughed in reply, causing Rhuben to grit her teeth in anger.

"Resorting to violence?" she replied as if it was the funniest thing in the world. "It's so funny, because if you do that. You're acting _exactly like your dad_."

Rhuben glared harder but didn't say anything to Britt as she turned and pushed her way back into the party, grabbing onto Logan's arm and kissing him. When she pulled away, she looked back at Britt and smirked.

"What was that for?" Logan asked when Rhuben turned back to him, her expression softening when she saw the pleased smile on his face.

"No reason," she replied and gave him a hug. "Happy Birthday."

"No seriously," Logan studied her face and could easily tell that there was something bothering her. "What's wrong?"

Rhuben hesitated, taking a deep breath as she looked up at him, lowering her arms from around his waist as she took a step back. "Do you…still have feelings for Britt?"

"What?" Logan's eyebrows furrowed together as if he wasn't sure what she was talking about.

"Your ex," Rhuben replied with a frown, not liking his answer. "Do you still have feelings for her?" Logan started to stammer out an answer and Rhuben got frustrated. "It's just a simple yes or no answer, Logie. Do you like her or not?"

"No," Logan finally replied, shaking his head. "I don't have feelings for her." He looked hurt. "How could you ask me that?"

"The fact that she's been around for the past week, the fact that she just practically threatened me when we were over by the bathroom," Rhuben waved her arm over towards Britt, who was talking to the Jennifers. Britt looked up over at Rhuben and Logan and smiled sweetly as she waved. "And she just gave you a picture from when you two were freaking _dating_!"

"Bella," Logan grabbed onto her shoulders. "_Nothing_ is going on between Britt and me, I hadn't even thought about her ever since we broke up when I met you again." Rhuben didn't say anything, she just continued to stare at him, as if she didn't believe him. "I promise. Now can we drop it?" he sounded annoyed.

"Fine."

* * *

"So, I haven't given you your gift yet, Ruby." Kendall stated as he pulled Riley aside from everyone else. She watched as he pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it reveal a small silver necklace with a red gemstone on it. "I hope you like it." He stated sheepishly when he saw the stunned expression on her face.

"It's beautiful," Riley replied as she took it and looked it over. She looked up at Kendall, slightly confused. "But we've only been dating a couple of weeks, you didn't have to-"

"But I've known you for almost a year and it's your birthday and you're my girlfriend," he looked even more sheepish. "I hope." Riley smirked in reply.

"This is the only time that your assumption is a good thing," she warned and gave him a peck on the lips before giving him a hug. "I really like it."

"Let me put it on, then," Kendall took the necklace from her and moved around to stand behind her to put the necklace on. He moved back to her front and admired it. "It looks good on you, Ruby."

"Thank you, Hockey-Head." Riley replied and kissed him again. "Let's get some cake." She took his hand and the two of them started across the floor over to the cake table, but halfway there, Riley stopped, her eyes transfixed on something. Kendall looked in the direction that she was looking at but didn't see anything. "Uh," she turned to him. "Can you get me a piece, I have to go to the bathroom really fast."

"Sure thing." Kendall replied and kissed her on the cheek as she turned and hurried to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

Riley pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, and a piece of paper with a number on it from her other pocket and entered the number on her phone, bringing it up to her ear as she waited for the line to be picked up. "Uh yeah," she stated into the phone when she heard someone pick up. "Is this the California State Prison? Yeah, could you tell me if Robert Jacksons had been released early or…he's still in? Ok, just checking."

Riley turned off her phone and sat down on the closed toilet, holding her face in her hands…

* * *

**A/N: I don't really like this chapter, but I couldn't find another way to write it. The part with Patrick and the alligator I like though. Ok, so the only people that I didn't show were Mrs. Knight, Ronan, Gustavo, and Kelly, but I'm working on it. Yeah, I know, not a lot of Kiley in this one either, but the next few chapter has Kiley, Jameo, and PatrickxKatiexNoah in it as well as sibling bonding with the Jacksons. I hope you guys are still enjoying this.**

**Now I have an important question for you guys, just so I can think about it before this story ends (which isn't that soon, don't worry.) Would you guys rather have me make a sequel to this where the two bands go on tour together or start a new series with the Jacksons?  
**

**-Riley**


	16. Big Time Scars

**.:Chapter Sixteen – Big Time Scars:.**

**

* * *

**James smiled when he saw Jo sitting by herself at a table at the Palm Woods pool under an awning. She was concentrating on a script and he could see her mouthing the words as she pulled the script away room from her face, trying it memorize them. Camille was sitting with her, helping her work on her lines. James's smile grew wider as he got a plan to scare the two of them and slowly started to edge around the pool, moving slowly so the girls didn't notice that he was getting closer. James dove behind Guitar Dude when he noticed that Camille was turning, as if looking for someone.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Guitar Dude asked as she stopped playing and looked at James as if he was crazy. James smiled in reply and then pointed towards Jo and Camille.

"I'm going to scare them, so don't say anything," James replied and Guitar Dude smiled, nodded, and gave a 'dude' of affirmation and went back to playing his guitar. James continued to crawl along the ground before he was by the girl's table, their backs to him. He took a deep breath and held it, making sure that the two of them couldn't hear his breathing and then slammed his hands down onto the table shouting 'Hi girls' at the top of his lungs.

Jo and Camille screamed so loud that it echoed across the Palm Woods pool and sent Bitters running into the pool area with a baguette in his hands, as if he was going to use it as a weapon. James laughed as Jo and Camille turned towards him and started to hit him with their scripts, shouting at the same time.

"Ow! Ouch! Stop!" James cowered, while he was still laughing. "I'm sorry, geez. I'm sorry." Jo and Camille finally stopped hitting him and he sat down in the empty chair at their table.

"That's not funny," Jo practically whined. "I'm working on a scene for a really big movie that I'm auditioning for and I'm already nervous enough that I can't remember what my lines are." She pouted as her script onto the table. "I don't need you scaring me to forget even more."

"You want to know my trick for auditions?" James offered as he picked up one of their scripts and looked over it.

"Hmm, let me guess," Camille pressed her index finger to her cheek, looking at the ceiling before rolling her eyes towards James. "You oil up your abs to see if you can blind the woman judges?" James smiled as he rolled up the script and lightly hit her on the forehead. "I'm only kidding James."

"Anyway, that's not what I do," James replied as he looked over at Jo and then at Camille, to make sure that they were both paying attention. "What I do is I take my mind off of it by doing something else." He explained. "Play hockey, watch TV…" he trailed off as he looked over at Jo expectantly. "Go on a date maybe."

"What did you have in mind?" Jo asked with a warm smile as she rested her elbows on the table and leaned close to James. Camille smiled as she crossed herms over her chest and shook her head. Jo looked over at her and winked, causing Camille to laugh a little bit and gave thumbs up.

"Well I was hoping that tomorrow we could go to a movie or something," James replied and flicked his head so his hair moved out of his face. He sat back and then addressed Camille and Jo. "But the Jacksons were wondering if we wanted to go over to their house for dinner tonight."

"That depends," Camille replied as she raised an eyebrow. "Is Logan's _worst half_ going to be there?"

"So you noticed that she seems to be around a lot too?" James asked and the two girls nodded. "Yeah, according to Bitters she moved into the Palm Woods to become and actress."

"You're not serious," Jo moaned as she made a face and then groaned when James nodded. "I can't believe this!"

"Well, we shouldn't have to worry about her," Camille stated, although she looked a little nervous herself. "It's not like she's going to follow us all the way to the Jacksons' house, I mean, how pathetic would that be?"

"Speaking of pathetic," Jo pointed over James' and Camille's shoulders and the two of them turned to see Britt walking into the palm woods pool, looking around for someone. She turned back to James. "Where are the other guys?"

"Oh," James laughed a little bit as he started to drum his hands on his pants legs. "They're in the apartment with Katie playing dome hockey." James looked over at Britt again. "Although, it wouldn't surprise me if Logan is staying up there just to make sure that he can hide if Britt ever comes by." He changed the subject. "Anyway, it's the Knights vs. Logan and Carlos in an all out brawl." He raised a finger to add onto it. "_And_ they can do anything to distract the other team to try a get a point, just to make it more interesting."

"Right, because the normal game is so interesting in the first place." Jo replied as she made a face at Camille, who shrugged in reply. The two of them really didn't understand what kept the guys so fascinated with hockey.

"What do you mean?" James asked as he narrowed his eyes. He suddenly gasped loudly as his eyes widened, pointing at Jo. "You don't like hockey do you?" Jo made a face as if she wasn't sure if she should say anything and James gasped again. "You _don't."_

"I'm sorry, I just don't see the fun in bashing people on skates," Jo made a face as she thought about playing hockey herself and getting hit into the boards. She winced and shuddered before turning to James. "I mean, don't you get scared hat you're going to lose your teeth?"

"No," James replied and then puffed out his chest. "Because we're _too good_ to get out teeth knocked out." He replied in a macho voice.

"I'm sure you are." Jo laughed in reply as she patted him on the arm. "Camille and I have to go to our audition," she looked at her watch. "But you guys can swing around and get us later?" she phrased it as a question. "At about four o'clock?"

"Sounds good to me," James agreed as he stood up and kissed her on the cheek, causing her to smile warmly. Then, not to leave Camille out, he turned and gave her a hug. "See you girls later."

"Bye James." The two girls waved and hooked arms before walking off.

James smiled as he watched the two of them go. It was funny because when he first got to the Palm Woods he thought that Camille was a little crazy and that she wouldn't be the kind of person that he would be friends with. But that had changed after she helped them trick Gustavo and Kelly into making the 'Teen Crib' into their apartment. After that, she helped them with most of the other plans that Kendall came up with. Jo was the kind of girl that he never thought he would be dating, but he didn't mean that in a mean way. She was just so pretty and he could be such a goofball sometimes that he was surprised that she stuck around. But he liked her a lot, so it made him happy that she was giving him a chance.

With nothing to do, he started to go up to the apartment, but his ringing cell phone caught his attention. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen, realizing that it was a number he didn't recognize.

"Hello?" James answered the phone tentatively, not sure who it was.

"JAMES!" James cried out and pulled his phone away from his ear when he heard Gustavo's shout. "I'M COMING HOME EARLY! AND I NEED YOU BOYS IN THE DANCE STUDIO, NOW!"

"Right, yes, sure." James stammered and hung up his phone before quickly running to the apartment. He threw open the door and smiled briefly when he saw Kendall and Katie shouted in victory at the point that they had just gotten. "Guys, we need to get to the studio, now."

"Why?" Kendall asked as he threw his arm into the air. "I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but Gustavo isn't here." He looked over at Carlos and Logan, who nodded in agreement. "He's on vacation. He can't tell us what to do."

"He _can_ if he came back _early._" James replied and Kendall's victorious smile faded as the words sank in. "So, we need to get going now."

"Do you know how long it will take for us to walk there?" Logan asked as he gestured over to the clock on the wall. "There's no way that we can get there in time." He turned to Kendall. "Besides, we've been asking your mom for a lot lately, so I don't know if she would be willing to drive us."

"Well, you should try asking anyway," Katie pointed out to her brother, her eyes still on the hockey dome. "Besides I'm sure that Ronan invited mom over to their house afterwards, so why not?" she looked over at Kendall, who was looking back at her with an innocent look in his green eyes. She sighed heavily. "_Fine" _she went over to hers and her mom's room and lightly knocked on the door before going in, seeing her mother lying on her bed, reading.

"Yes, honey?" she looked up, looking worried. "What is it?"

"Well, the guys have to rush over to the studio because Gustavo is coming home early, but Kendall is too afraid to ask if you would take them and then over to the Jacksons' house afterwards." She explained. She raised an eyebrow as Mrs. Knight had an odd, dreamy expression on her face.

"Sure," she replied as she got up and grabbed her purse and her keys. "I was just reading anyway." She walked out of the bedroom and Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos jumped back from the door as if they were listening to the conversation, just in case they needed to go in and beg her to drive them.

"What's up with mom?" Kendall asked as the five of them turned to watch her walk out of the door. "She looks kind of funny."

"I don't know," Katie replied as they started to follow her. "But I was thinking the same thing." The five of them followed Mrs. Knight down to the lobby. Katie smiled when she saw Bitters watching them. "What's the matter, Bitters?" she called tauntingly. "Afraid that we're going to find _another_ way to mess up the hotel?" Bitters raised his hand and dropped all of his fingers except for his middle and index finger so it made a 'v'. He turned it to the side as if he was poking himself in the eyes, and then pointed the sideways 'v' towards Katie. "Bring it on." She muttered under her breath with a half-smile, already forming a plan in her head.

Mrs. Knight quickly drove them to Rocque Records and the boys piled out, running inside as fast as they could when they saw Gustavo's limo in the parking lot. Carlos was the first one to reach the door to the dance studio and he threw it open and ran inside. But he screeched to a halt suddenly, causing Kendall, James, and Logan to run right into him. The four boys stared at Gustavo and Kelly. Gustavo was very sunburned and he wasn't looking very happy about it. Kelly stood off to the side, looking as if she wanted to laugh, but knew not to.

"Boys, dance to Shot in the Dark, _now_!" Gustavo snapped.

Before any of them moved, Carlos burst out laughing as he pointed to the two of them. "Hahahahahahahaha!" he laughed loudly. "You guys look like _lobsters_!" he walked over to the two of them and circled around Gustavo. "What happened?" he reached out a finger. "Does it hurt?"

"CARLOS, NO!" Kendall, James, Logan, and Kelly shouted in unison. But it was too late as Carlos pressed a finger against Gustavo's neck, causing Gustavo to scream so loud that the mirrors in the room cracked at the corner.

Katie and Mrs. Knight rushed in as they heard the sound, yelling and wondering what had happened. When they saw Gustavo, their mouths dropped open.

"DANCE STEPS NOW!" Gustavo bellowed and the four boys quickly moved into formation and started to dance, even without the music playing. Anything to make sure that Gustavo wasn't even more made at them.

"What happened?" Mrs. Knight whispered as she moved over to Kelly. "He looks really bad."

"That the understatement of the _year_." Katie pointed out and Mrs. Knight quickly placed a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. Katie rolled her eyes, annoyed with the fact that she couldn't tell the truth without being reprimanded a little bit.

"He was having such a good time on vacation that he almost refused to get out of the sun," Kelly whispered in reply. "So now he's grumpy _and sunburned,_ exactly what we needed." She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she turned to Mrs. Knight." Kacy, what's going on with that smile on your face?" she questioned. Mrs. Knight looked innocent.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied smoothly.

"Oh yeah, then why do you look happier than usual?" Kelly replied as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back as she looked Mrs. Knight up and down. Mrs. Knight just smiled in reply and Kelly gave up. "Alright, don't tell me. But I _will_ find out later." She walked by Mrs. Knight and grabbed Katie's arm. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Katie replied as she shrugged. "She's my mom and sometimes she can be hard to crack."

"Well, let me know if you figure something out."

"Deal."

Katie sat in the corner of the room for the remainder of the guys' practice. Gustavo's sunburn must have been really bothering him as he made the boys dance to the same song over and over again, but increasing the tempo each time that they did the song. And when they were done with the song, he would make them do a lot of crunches and pushups.

"Am I dead?" Carlos asked as he stared at the ceiling when they were done. All four boys were lying flat on their backs, breathing heavily. "Because I feel like I died during that last song." He took off his helmet and wiped sweat off of his forehead.

"Wow, he must really hate that sunburn." Logan added.

"But on the plus side," James managed to smile a little bit. "His complexion is going to be _so good_ when all of that dead skin peels off." Kendall, who was lying beside him, frowned and reached out to lazily hit him on the head.

"Ow," Kendall winced. "Everything hurts."

"Well, if it helps, you guys did great today." Katie stated as she walked over to the four of them and stood over her brother. Kendall looked up at her and shook his head.

"No, it doesn't help." He replied with a sigh. He cried out in pain again as Katie grabbed onto his arm and pulled him to his feet. "Ow! Katie, stop!" he practically whined.

"Yo dogs," Gustavo turned from the corner where he was talking with Kelly and Mrs. Knight. "I know that I've pushed you guys really really hard today because of my bad mood." He paused and looked over at the two women, who nodded. He sighed heavily. "And I'm…I'm…" the four boys were now sitting up and staring at him intently. "I'm sorry ok!" he snapped.

"Aww," Carlos smiled as he got to his feet and opened his arms wide. "You're forgiven." He moved forward and tried to give Gustavo a hug, but James quickly jumped to his feet and grabbed him, holding him back. "No hug?"

"No hug." Logan replied as he patted his friend on the shoulder. He laughed when Carlos pouted. "But we should get going if we want to get to the Jacksons' house on time."

"What about taking a shower first?" Kendall asked as he lifted his arm and sniffed his own armpit. He made a face and waved the stench away.

"I'm sure that we can borrow something of Julius'." Logan replied as he raised and lowered one shoulder. "Besides, from what Landon has told me, I think they have a surprise for us." He smiled. "And I don't know about you, but I'd want to know what it is sooner."

"Fine, but can we at least drive with the windows down?" Katie asked as she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Yeah and we need to pick up Jo and Camille," James added, he then paused and looked over at Carlos. "What about Stephanie?"

"She's in the city with her dad, submitting some stuff in a film festival and then going to get some more clothes." Carlos replied with a wave of his hand. "She's going to be at the house later."

"Ok, so let's go." Mrs. Knight announced as she grabbed her keys. "Just let me know where to pick up the girls and we can figure it out from there." She turned to Gustavo and Kelly. "We'll see you guys there?"

"Yeah, we just have to stop at the store and get some aloe Vera." Kelly replied as she shook his head. "We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Alright," Mrs. Knight gave a wave before she ushered everybody out of Rocque Records.

They got back into the minivan and drove to the place that Jo texted James where she and Camille would be. When they picked the girls up, the four boys had to squish in the back, something that they hadn't done for years while Katie took shotgun and Jo and Camille took the middle seat.

"Ugh, now I remembered why we stopped doing this." James grunted as he shifted to the side, trying to get more leg room, pushing Kendall and Logan into Carlos, who was pushed into the window.

"Ow, James stop it!" Carlos whined and shoved them back.

"Would all _please_ stop acting like children!" Logan snapped as he slapped Carlo's hands away from him. In return, Carlos flicked Logan's ear and the two of them got into a slap fight.

"You guys, stop acting like babies!" Camille shouted as she turned around in her seat to glare at them. They froze when they heard her shout. "You're making it smell even worse in here than it already does." She added. Even though the front two windows were rolled down and the back two were opened, you can't really ever get rid of the smell of sweating boy.

"How much further away are we?" Jo added as she leaned towards Mrs. Knight's seat, hoping that her perfume would help get rid of the smell. But she and Katie were also holding onto their noses.

"We're here actually," Mrs. Knight replied as she pushed the horn twice. "I see Patrick and Noah in the front yard with Rhuben." Katie leaned forward to see what her mom was talking about and couldn't help but smile.

Rhuben was sitting on the grass on a skateboard, her camera up to her eye, and Patrick and Noah were playing basketball. But due to the heat Rhuben was only in a sports bra and jeans as Patrick and Noah were shirtless. They all stopped what they were doing and waved when they heard Mrs. Knight honk the car. Patrick motioned for Mrs. Knight to park at the side of the road so they could continue playing their game and she did so.

As soon as she turned off the car, everybody got out as if they hadn't seen land for days. "Good avro!" Patrick stated with a wave as Noah grabbed the basketball that was aimed for his face and mimicked what his brother had said.

"Good avro to you too" Katie replied although Noah could tell that she was confused as to what it meant.

"It means good afternoon." He supplied and she nodded and smiled.

"Whoo! Fresh air!" Camille shouted as she and Jo took a few deep breaths. "Do you know how long we had to sit in the car with them when they haven't _showered_? Especially after a dance practice!"

"Maybe I should hold off on that hug then," Rhuben commented as she dropped her arms to her sides and took a few quick steps back away from Logan. "You know, so I don't get it."

"We don't smell that bad," Logan replied as he rolled his eyes, annoyed at the girl's antics. He looked over at Rhuben and smiled. "You look hot." He commented, causing Rhuben to blush slightly as she raised an eyebrow.

"Hot is an understatement," she replied as she wiped her hands off on her jeans. "It's boiling out here." She replied and then looked over at the rest of the guys. "I'm assuming that all of you are going to need a shower?" she asked and they nodded. "Well, I think Julius has some clothes he doesn't mind you borrowing," she stated as she turned on her heel. "I'll just go ask to make sure and tell everyone else that you're here." She turned back around and pointed to Patrick and Noah. "I'll have these pictures developed soon." She then turned to Camille, Jo, and Katie. "And unless you want to fry out here Riley, Sydney, Brittany, and Ronan are waiting for ya." She then turned to Mrs. Knight and smiled warmly. "Hi Mama Knight, how are you?"

"I'm doing great, Rhuben." Mrs. Knight replied. "How are you all?"

"We're doing great," Rhuben couldn't keep a large grin off her face. "Wait until you hear what the surprise is." Logan looked over at her and noticed that her eyes were sparkling, meaning that she was genuinely happy. But he could also tell that she wouldn't tell him what was going on even if he begged. She then turned to everybody. "C'mon." she turned and led the way to the house.

"Katie, are you coming?" Kendall asked when he noticed that she wasn't following them.

"Nah, I'm going to stay out here for a while." Katie replied as she took the basketball away from Noah and took a shot at the backboard. Patrick tried not to laugh, as it was probably one of the worst shots he had ever seen. "But I'll be in soon."

"Alright," Kendall replied as he tried to hide his knowing smile. Katie noticed and rolled her eyes at her older brother as he burst out laughing, shaking his head. He knew of her _semi-crush_ on Patrick and Noah, and he also knew that she was having a hard time trying to figure out which one she liked more. It didn't help at all when he teased her about it. "Just don't stay out here too long; you don't want to get sunburnt like Gustavo."

"Gustavo got burnt?" Patrick questioned as Noah passed him the ball and he took a shot at the basket, it went in the net with ease. "How bad?"

"Like lobster red bad." Katie giggled in reply and then peered at Patrick's back when he scurried to get the ball. "Is that a tattoo?"

"Yeah," Noah replied simply as he caught the basketball as Patrick passed him the ball. He rested it against his hip before turning to face Katie as Patrick stood behind him. "All of us have tattoos. Julius, Riley, and Rhuben have five of them, and Noah, Sydney and I have three."

"Can I seem em'?" Katie asked and then blushed. "I mean, if you _can_ show me them."

"No worries," Patrick chuckled as he scratched his chest. "We put them in places that can easily be hidden, but so that we can show people too." He turned around and motioned to the word 'Sparky' on his back. "That's my nickname and it was the first tattoo I got." He then turned back around and pointed to his right shoulder where there was a lightning bolt. "That's my symbol." He said and then noticed Katie's confused expression. "We each made a symbol for ourselves when we made our band." He then crouched down and rolled up his right pants leg. "And barbed wire."

"And I have my nickname Pro on my back," Noah turned around to show the name on his back. "My symbol," it was the picture of a set of wings. He crouched down and rolled up his right pants leg. "And barbed wire."

"That's so cool," Katie stated as she poked Noah's shoulder. "Did it hurt?"

"Only around the ankle," Patrick replied as he shot Noah a glance, which Noah returned with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "I mean, what with a bone there and everything." He took a step closer to Katie. "Are you ever going to get a tattoo?"

"I was thinking about it, but I don't think my mom would go for it," Katie replied and then looked at the sky in thought. "I was thinking of getting a rose or something."

"Oh, don't get a flower." Noah stated as he shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Because you don't want a tattoo that can't compare to your beauty."

Katie blushed and turned away, hiding her face as Noah turned and smiled at Patrick, raising his eyebrows as if he was trying to say 'beat that'. Patrick just smirked in reply meaning 'I will' and spun the basketball around his finger.

"Do you want to play?" he asked Katie, getting her attention again.

"Ah," Katie looked at the ball and then over at the basketball hoop before shaking her head. "You guys go ahead, I'll watch."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'm not even that good."

"If you say so," Patrick replied as he turned to get into position to start the game. "You're going down, bro." he muttered to his twin when he was sure that they were out of ear shot. Noah just smirked in reply, brushing his long hair out of his face.

"We'll see about that."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Riley smiled as Kendall wrapped his arms around Riley's waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He gently sniffed her hair. "Mm, strawberries."

"I'm making dinner if you couldn't guess," Riley replied as she pulled herself out of Kendall's grasp and went over to the oven to check on something that was inside it. "I know that we're eating early, but that's only because we want to have a lot of time in between dinner and having desert."

"Alright," Kendall replied as he pulled himself up to sit on the counter. "What's this big surprise though?"

"You won't know until Ronan announces it," Riley replied as she turned to face him, pulling her hair up into pigtails. "We don't want to ruin the surprise now do we?" she asked as she smirked.

"It depends on what it is." Kendall replied with a grin.

"Nice try but I don't even know what the surprise is," Riley replied with a chuckle and looked up as Carlos entered the kitchen, looking around. "If you want something to snack on, there's like a bunch of junk food that we put down in the basement for you guys." She and Kendall laughed when Carlos immediately ran downstairs. "Who's left to take as shower?"

"James I think," Kendall replied as he noticed the cutting board with carrots beside him and took one to bite into, chewing loudly. "We make him go last because he takes _forever_."

"Patrick's the same," Riley replied as she walked over and took the cutting board and carrots away from him, sticking out his tongue. "I have to remind James to stop talking to him." She looked up and beamed when Ronan walked into the kitchen. "Hey Ronan."

"Hey," he replied and placed a hand on her head, rubbing her hair around. The noise of protest he made caused him to laugh. "Why don't you just go down to the basement with everyone else? I can finish here and you already made breakfast today."

"Sure." Riley pulled off her apron and tossed it towards Ronan. "Where're Julius and Brittany?"

"Downstairs I think," Ronan replied as he went to put on the fabric. He turned around and Riley tied the back of the apron for him. "Where are Patrick and Noah?"

"Outside playing basketball and trying to impress Katie is my guess." Riley replied as she placed a hand on her hip and shook her head. "What _is_ it with these Knights liking these Jacksons so much?"

"I don't know," Kendall replied as he smiled suggestively towards her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "There's something about you that's just so irresistible." He closed his eyes and moved forward…meeting air. Embarrassed, he opened his eyes to see Riley on the other side of the kitchen, smirking at him. He looked over at Ronan and saw that the older man was chuckling under his breath.

"Nice try." Riley stated and turned and went to answer the door as someone had rung the doorbell. "Hey Steph," she greeted her friend with a hug before stepping back to let her in. "How was the film festival thing?"

"Well, I've submitted my movie; I just have to know how well it does." Stephanie replied as she pulled her hair out of its ponytail and let her long hair drape over her shoulders. "Where is everyone?"

"Down in the basement." Riley replied and led her through the kitchen and down the stairs.

James, Carlos, Logan, and Julius were playing pool as Brittany, Camille, Jo, and Rhuben were playing foosball. Sydney was sitting on a nearby stool, drinking soda and watching the guys play pool. Kendall was leaning against the wall, trying to make it that they messed up, by shouting things as they went to take a shot.

"Hey," Stephanie grinned as she walked over to Carlos and gave him a kiss, taking his helmet and placing it on her head. "How are you?"

"Great, not that you're here." Carlos replied. "How was the film festival?"

"I'll let you know when I get the letter." She replied and then scanned the table. "Which balls are you aiming for?" she rolled her eyes when Carlos burst out laughing. "You're so immature."

"Yeah," he shrugged. "But you love me anyway." He replied and kissed her.

"Aww," Jo, Camille, and Brittany teased as the two pulled apart, blushing. Even though they had been going out for a while, they still got embarrassed when their friends teased them about their going out.

"I call next," Riley stated as she dropped into a bubble chair and turned on the TV.

"When's dinner going to be ready?" Julius asked as he rubbed his stomach, turning to his little sister. "I'm hungry."

"As soon as Ronan is done," Riley stated as she continued to flip through channels on the TV. "Gustavo and Kelly aren't here yet, but I know it might take a bit as we need enough food to tie over Gustavo and Patrick."

"Does Patrick still like to eat a lot?" Brittany asked as she flicked her wrist and cheered when the foosball went shooting into Jo and Camille's goal. Rhuben snorted and leaned against the foosball table to get the ball to drop in the center.

"Do you _not _know him?" she replied with a chuckle. "It's a wonder his clothes still fit."

"Speaking of which," Julius took a shot and rested his cue stick against the ground, leaning against it. "Go put a shirt on." He ordered, looking over at Logan and then back at his little sister, who puffed up her cheeks before replying.

"Why?" she stated simply. "I've been like this all day and you hadn't said anything."

"Because I didn't need too," Julius replied as if it was obvious. "And that was before your boyfriend came around. He picked up the stick and lightly hit her on the butt with it. "Now, go put on a shirt." Rhuben stuck her tongue out at her brother before turning and doing as she was told, but not before stomping her foot on each step as she went upstairs. "Love you too." He called back sarcastically.

"Did you know that you're the _best_ brother in the world?" Riley asked sarcastically as she looked over at him. Julius smirked and flipped her off in reply.

"HEY!" Sydney shouted indignantly, putting down his soda can.

"I was being sarcastic," Riley replied and smiled. "You're my favorite." Sydney smiled, pleased, and ran over to her and sat in her lap. He giggled when she dug her fingers in his ribs, tickling him mercilessly. "Just don't tell Patrick."

"I won't." Sydney replied and took the remote from her hand as he started to look through the channels.

"Whoa, sweet basement!" Katie cried as she walked into the room. She turned to Julius and pointed over her shoulder. "Patrick and Noah wanted me to tell you that they're going to take a shower." She looked confused. "And that Patrick needs gauze."

"What for?" Rhuben questioned, looking a little worried.

"Noah accidentally threw the ball at Patrick's face and Patrick didn't catch it." Katie replied with a giggle. "It was really funny actually."

"I'm sure it was." Camille replied knowingly, causing everybody else to snicker. Katie huffed and rolled her eyes, not bothering to reply as she went over to watch the girls play foosball.

After their showers, Patrick and Noah joined them and they continued to play games and watch TV, laughing and shouting at each other. They could tell when Gustavo and Kelly arrived because they could hear Gustavo's loud voice approaching the house, even though the basement walls. This prompted Carlos to make a joke about Gustavo's sunburn and they all made bets about when it would be gone. When six o'clock hit, dinner was called and everybody rushed upstairs to get seats to start eating, as they were very hungry. When everything was finally passed out and everybody was eating, Ronan lightly hit his glass with his fork as he stood up, getting everyone's attention, except for Gustavo.

"Gustavo?" Ronan questioned, watching as the large man continued to eat his many hamburgers. Finally, Kelly elbowed him in the side and he stopped eating long enough to look up and notice that everyone was staring. "Thank you." Kelly smiled and nodded. "Anyway, I bet you all are wondering what the surprise is-"

"Industrial mirrors in Rocque Records?" James asked his eyes wide. "You finally got them?"

"No," Ronan replied shortly and laughed at James' deflated expression. "It's much bigger than that. As you all know," he turned and looked at the Jacksons. "I've been working a lot lately and not really being here to watch you guys whenever you do something wrong." He then looked pointedly at Patrick and Noah. "Like breaking my shoe rack."

"That was Noah's fault." Patrick replied quickly, causing everyone to laugh. It was nervous laughter; they all just really wanted to know what the surprise was. Patrick smiled over at his brother, who smiled back and shook his head.

"Anyway, I haven't been working on your music stuff like I have been telling you," Ronan replied as he looked back at the Jacksons again, who now looked utterly confused. "I have been meeting up with Linda countless times to talk about your adoption," he paused and slowly started to smile a smile so big that Sydney was afraid that it was going to split his face. "And as of today, I am now your guys' adoptive father."

"WHAT?" Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney shouted at the same time that Julius broke out into happy laughter.

"Are you serious?" Julius questioned and then grinned when Ronan nodded. "Good, because I need as much help as I can get with these little terrors." He added and stood up too. He leaned over and gave Ronan a big hug as everybody else started going nuts.

"You're right," Kendall smiled across the table at Riley. "It's a good thing I didn't ruin the surprise." Riley beamed back in reply, too happy to say anything. Apparently her younger brothers and her twin were the same way as their mouths were opening and closing, but no words were coming out.

"Then if there's nothing that any of you guys can say, then we can continue eating." Ronan laughed as he sat back down. "By the way, there's Ice cream cake for desert."

"CAKE!" Carlos shouted appreciatively, causing everyone to laugh again.

With that, dinner conversation was much more positive. Ronan told the story of how he had first met the Jacksons, hearing them sing their acapella version of the Journey song 'Don't Stop Believing' and that he knew that he had to sign them as soon as he heard them sing. After that, Julius went on to tell embarrassing stories of his younger brothers and sisters, ignoring their shouts and screams of protest and defense when their friends started to laugh at them.

Finally, everyone finished dinner and Julius and Brittany volunteered to do the dishes and everyone went back to the basement to watch more TV.

"Who wants to play me in pool?" Kendall asked as he waved a pool stick around. He rolled his eyes when his friends groaned. "Oh come on, it's just stupid game."

"You say that now," James commented from where he was sitting on the floor, his arms wrapped around Jo's shoulders. "But then you always start to get really, really mad whenever you're losing. And you're as much of a bad loser as you are a winner."

"Come on, please?" Kendall pleaded as he scanned his friends' faces.

"Why not," Riley stated as she got up from the couch and grabbed a pool stick of her own. "Anything to make you stop with the eyes." She added and kissed his cheek as she walked by him. "Just don't be too bad when I beat you."

"I doubt that's going to happen." Kendall replied with a smile.

"You shouldn't have said that," Sydney commented from where he was sitting in Camille's lap. "Ri-Ri can be really competitive too. She _hates_, and I mean absolutely _hates _to lose."

"Then this will be a very interesting game." Kendall replied as he wiggled his eyebrows, causing Riley to laugh. "You get first shot," he declared and Riley went up to take her shot. "But I'm warning you, it'll be your last."

"Sure," Riley replied and hit the cue ball. The ball went shooting forward and broke the other balls and managed to sink two solid balls. "Just don't start crying when you lose." She stated and moved around the table to sink another ball.

Kendall watched, his mouth dropping lower and lower as Riley continued to sink ball after ball, not even giving him a chance to try himself. Riley smirked and leaned against her cue stick when she sank in the last ball.

"Told you I'd win." She replied and stuck out her tongue.

"I can't believe you beat me," Kendall frowned as if he really couldn't believe it.

"I told you that I would." Riley replied as she rested her cue stick against the wall and wiped her hands off on the sides of her pants. "But did you believe me?" she pretended to think. "No, because your head was so big that you thought that you would win."

"Are you saying I have a big ego?" Kendall asked with a scoff as he put his cue stick aside and slowly started to walk towards her.

"Not exactly," Riley replied and squinted as she looked at him. "Your head is a good size, but your eyebrows kind of make them looks bigger." She held her thumb and index finger a good three inches apart. "They must be this big." She added teasingly.

"You're going to pay for that."

"Not if you can't catch me."

With that, Riley turned and darted up the stairs, Kendall hot on her heels as he had longer legs. She ran through the living room and around the couch. She smirked and stuck out her tongue, standing on one side of the couch, as Kendall stood on the other. She faked to the right and started to run around the left side of the couch, but Kendall, with his fast reflexes, quickly caught her and tackled her onto the couch.

Laughing, Kendall pinned her down, straddling her waist, and then punched the air with his fists. "Yes! I got you!" he declared before smiling down at her.

"Yeah, that's all great and everything," Riley stated, looking annoyed. She tried to sit up, but Kendall wouldn't let her move. "You can get off me now." Kendall pretended to think about it and shook his head. "That's great." She rolled her eyes. "So what do I have to do to get you to get off of me?"

Kendall smiled suggestively. "I have an idea" he replied before leaning down and kissing her.

Riley smiled against his lips before kissing him back. They were totally oblivious to everything except each other. Riley lost control of all coherent thoughts and concentrated only on his lips on hers and Kendall's hands running through her hair. She pulled her boyfriend closer, gripping his shoulders tightly. She felt a million wonderful sensations zinging through her senses, the kiss got deeper, hungrier as she pulled him tighter to her.

Kendall gently moved his hand under her shirt and rested his hand against her hip. He opened his eyes when he felt something and pulled back, lifting up her shirt a little bit to see a tattoo of a star on her hip. "What's this?"

"Oh its one of my tattoos," Riley replied casually. "I have, like, four more."

"Where?" Kendall asked as he looked down at her.

"One on my back, one on my shoulder, one around my foot, and one right here," she held up her left hand and Kendall saw a small black star on her hand in-between her thumb and index finger. "Why?"

"No reason," Kendall replied and smiled. "I think it's sexy." Riley blushed a little bit as she smirked. "And I love your smirk." He leaned down and kissed her cheeks before kissing her on the lips again. He gently caressed her cheek as he lightly licked her lips, and she complied by opening her mouth, gently touching his tongue with hers.

Eyes still closed, Kendall gently moved his hand down her arms. He felt something odd when he came to her wrists and he opened his eyes again, looking confused.

Riley's eyes flew open and "What?" Riley asked breathlessly when she saw the look on his face.

"What's this?" Kendall asked as he pointed to her wrist, seeing a line of scars on her arm. A lot of them were old but a few of them were new.

Riley quickly pulled her arm back, looking scared. "It's nothing." She replied quickly. "Really."

"If it's nothing then why are you getting so nervous about it?" Kendall questioned gently.

"I'm not." Riley replied and gently pushed Kendall off of her. "I fell into a thorn bush." She turned and gave him a gentle smile. "That's all."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Kendall asked as he stared at her.

"No." Riley shook her head.

"Then do you seriously think that I would fall for that?" Kendall demanded as he stared right at Riley, who stared back at him. "You can't fall into a thorn bush and have it scratch you all up the arm like that." He looked again. "Plus, you have some old and new scars." He added.

"I…I…" Riley stammered, not sure what to say.

"Have you been hurting yourself?" Kendall questioned quietly. Riley didn't answer, but she looked away from him. "HAVE YOU BEEN HURTING YOURSELF?" Riley flinched horribly. He didn't mean to scream at her, he didn't mean to scare her. But he was so scared about her hurting herself. He cared about her so much he didn't want anything to happen to her.

At her shout, her siblings ran into the room, as well as their friends.

"What's going on?" Patrick questioned quietly as he looked back and forth between the two of them. Kendall grabbed onto Riley's hands and forced them together, hands up so the scars would show and he turned her around to face her brother, against her protests. Patrick looked down at her arms and his eyes widened as he looked up at Riley, who had started to cry. It was tehn that Patrick knew that something was really wrong. Riley NEVER cried and when she did, she only did it when she was sure that no one else was around.

Julius looked at her wrists and then looked extremely angry. "You've been cutting yourself again?" he demanded quietly. Katie gasped when Riley nodded.

'_Again?_' she thought to herself. '_She's done this before_?'

"Why?" Rhuben demanded as she gently pushed her sister back onto the couch and sat next to her. Kendall sat on her other side, putting an arm around her shoulders. "What made you start to do it this time?" she winced when she saw the lines that went up her sister's arms and shook her head. "I thought everything was going fine." she added gently.

"I don't know," Riley managed to say through her tears. "I've been so happy lately, but I've also been sad and I don't know why." She brushed her tears away. "You know me, I hate being all emotional and stuff," despite the circumstances, she laughed bitterly. "And you know just as well that I do that I don't like to be seen as weak, especially since I'm the 'leader' out of you guys. But I also know that you guys can practically see right through and figured that you would have figured out that something was bothering me. But eventually everything just managed to...spille out...and I just started again."

"Well you don't have to worry," Sydney brushed her tears away and smiled gently. "We're going to help you get through this again." Patrick and Noah nodded in agreement.

"Do you guys mind waiting in the basement?" Julius asked as he turned to face his friends. Brittany held his hand and leaned against him, gently kissing him on the cheek.

"It's no problem." Stephanie replied and they all went downstairs. Kendall refused to move.

"I'm going to help you get through this too," He murmured as she leaned against him. "I promise, I won't let you go through this alone. I'm here and so are your brothers and sister, and Brittany too." He whispered. "We're all going to help you."

"Thank you." Riley whispered.

"It's no problem." Kendall replied and kissed her forehead, brushing away her tears.

* * *

"Hey Logan, can I see your phone?" Rhuben questioned with a sigh as she sat down on the couch next to her boyfriend. She held out her hand as Logan went fishing through his pocket. "I want to see some sports scores and am too lazy to get my laptop."

"Yeah," he replied and handed it over to her. "Is everything ok?" he asked gently, although he knew that Rhuben didn't want to talk about Riley's cutting. Stephanie, Carlos, Camille, James, and Jo looked over at her expectantly. But Rhuben ignored them. It was a sore subject, especially since she had done it before. At least, that's what Logan and his friends had assumed when Julius had asked why she started again.

"Everything's fine," she replied and then furrowed her eyebrows together. "What's your passcode?"

Logan took the phone back and quickly typed in the numbers as Carlos raised his eyebrows in question. "You don't know each other's passcodes?" he looked surprised. "Stephanie and I know each other's."

"Yeah, well," Logan looked uncomfortable. "We like to respect each other's privacy." His head whipped to the side when he heard his phone ring the familiar tune to let him know that he had a text. "Here" He reached over to take the phone, but Rhuben pulled her hand back.

"Why is Britt sending you a text saying that she 'Enjoyed your talk last night and was hoping that you could do it again?'" She questioned coolly as she turned the phone around to show Logan the text. "You're forgetting that you set your phone to open a text as soon as you got it." She added. "So it's not my fault that I saw it."

Logan licked his lips nervously. "I can explain that-"

"I'm sure that you can." Rhuben replied and tossed him the phone.

"Uh, maybe we should go." James stated and grabbed Jo's hand, pulling her off of her couch. Their friends scurried out of the room and Rhuben made note that they stopped on the stairs to hear their conversation, but at this point she didn't care.

"You see," Logan ran his fingers through his hair. "She moved into the Palm Woods, right?" he looked at Rhuben and she nodded once. "Well, she's doing this audition for a medical show and she wanted to know if there was anything that she could do to get a step up on her audition." He swallowed thickly and continued. "So she asked me, because she knew that I used to want to be a doctor. And we talked about doctor things for a little bit and that's it. I swear." He searched Rhuben's face for any compassion and all he saw was coldness.

Logan winced and looked away. The magazines and websites were right when they said that she was the cold one of the group. The stare that he was giving him had him frozen to the spot.

She stayed silent for a minute before speaking again, her voice soft. "You told me, when I asked you, that you didn't have feelings for her."

"I don't," Logan frantically shook his head. "I swear I don't. I love _you_." He reached out to grab her hand and she pulled it away.

"And that may be true, but I also know that you're never going to be completely over your ex," Rhuben replied. "Because there's always a part of a person that asks what if." She rubbed her forehead and laughed bitterly. "I should have known that this was going to happen. I told myself that I was wrong, but I'm usually never wrong when it comes to this stuff."

"Bella-"

Rhuben held her hand up in his face and he fell silent. "I don't think…I can't…" she took a deep, shaky breath, and Logan could tell that she was going to start crying and that made his heart hurt. "I can't do this right now. Not with what's going on with my sister…I can't." she stood up and Logan watched her. Somehow, she was able to still be cold even though she was about to break down. "So go back to Britt and sort out whatever is going on there." She took another shaky breath. "Find me when you do."

"But Bella…" Logan's words died on his lips as Rhuben shook her head.

"I can't do this." She stated and turned and hurried towards the stairs. Her friends, who were still sitting on the stairs, listening, moved aside as she ran by them, leaving Logan downstairs, heartbroken and confused.

Rhuben ran up the stairs and looked into the living room, confused when she saw that no one was there. Frantically, she went into the kitchen and looked out the back door to see Julius and Brittany talking to the adults on the deck. Not caring if she burst into their conversation, she went out the door and threw her arms around Julius, burying her face into his chest. The sudden movement caused Julius to stumble back a few steps before gently hugging his sister.

"Munchkin, what's wrong?" he questioned in bewilderment, shooting at glance at Brittany, who shrugged in reply. She had a feeling she knew what was wrong, but didn't want to say anything until she was sure.

"Do me a favor," Rhuben whimpered as she lifted her head, tears falling down her cheeks. "Don't hurt Logan too much."

Julius sighed, finally getting what was going on, and hugged her sister tightly as she dropped her head and cried into his chest.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry guys but it had to be done; I needed to have Logan and Rhuben break up. But at least Kendall is going to be there for Riley, so that's a good part of the story. :). So maybe that didn't really make up for it. But I hope you guys don't throw rotten tomatoes at me for ending it like that and can wait for the next chapter.**

**On the plus side, this is my longest chapter yet with 16 pages.**

**-Riley**


	17. Big Time Realization

**.:Chapter Seventeen – Big Time Realization:.**

**

* * *

**"Are we done for the day?" Sydney asked Ronan as he stretched his hamstring. Ronan, who was sitting in the corner of the dance studio, writing on a notepad, thought for a second before nodding. "Good." He beamed and turned to his siblings, who were getting their stuff together. "Let's go see the guys!"

"Why?" Riley and Rhuben questioned in unison and in an identical way, totally deadpan.

Sydney rolled his eyes as he placed his hands on his hips. "_Because,_" He stressed the word causing the twin girls to crack small smiles. "They're not just your friends. They're our friends too." He motioned to himself, Patrick, and Noah. "Plus we all know that we want to see who Katie picks out of the two of them." He added, causing the twin boys to blush and look away. "And we all know that they're going to ask about Ri-Ri so you might as well get it over with." He turned and gave his direction to Rhuben. "And so what, you and Logan broke up. There are other fish in the sea and maybe this happened for a reason."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're too smart for your own good?" Ronan asked as he got up from the ground and walked over to the five of them as he crossed his arms over his chest. "But he's right. What happened…is something that you just have to get over." He smiled at the skeptical looks on Riley's and Rhuben's faces. "You guys have heard of the Kris Allen song _Live Like We're Dying_ right?" he asked.

"Duh," Patrick replied as he snorted. "That's our favorite song to listen to in the car."

"Well, you have to live like every moment is your last," Ronan replied and then winced a little. "Which I know considering you guys' old situation it probably wasn't the best choice of words to use. But if you remember that, then you're always going to be happy and you don't have to worry about things going wrong." He placed a hand on Rhuben's shoulder. "And with you and Logan breaking up, don't sweat it. He's always going to have a special place in your heart and you know it."

Rhuben looked away and didn't say anything.

"So we can get out of this awkward conversation, let's get going." Riley stated as she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She started to walk out of the room, but Ronan's call caused her to huff, roll her eyes, and walked back over to him, showing him her arms. "Can I go now?" she asked pointedly.

"Yeah, just make sure that you guys are home for dinner," Ronan replied as he mussed her hair, feeling kind of hurt of the way that she was looking at him. "Other than that, you're free to do whatever."

"When's Julius getting home?" Noah questioned as he messed with the zipper on his bag, opening and closing his bag over and over. "Didn't he drive Brittany back to the airport today?"

"Yes," Ronan replied with a nod and then squinted. "So that means it may take a while for Julius to get back, as it will probably be a while for him to let her go." He chuckled. "So don't expect him to get back before dinner."

"Right," Rhuben put her bag over her shoulder and gave a small wave. "Bye Dad, see you later." She gave a small smile as the five of them turned and left the room.

Ronan couldn't help but smiled back.

Dad.

He liked the sound of that.

* * *

_'Cause I don't wanna waste another moment__  
__I don't wanna pay for things unspoken__  
__I just wanna race with arms wide open__  
__Take a shot in the dark, to be where you are_

"Nice job guys," Kelly grinned as she pulled off her headphones and gave the boys thumbs up. "I think that you guys are doing a great job." Her smile grew bigger. "I can see how your singing has really improved," she added to Carlos and Logan who smiled back.

"Kelly, why are we still singing the same songs?" James asked, sounding annoyed. "I mean, we just released a CD a few months ago and it got gold," he looked thoughtful as he change the subject. "Then again, when is the party for that?"

"At the end of the week," Kelly replied with a half smile as she rolled her eyes. "What was the other thing that you were going to ask me?" she asked as she looked over at her clipboard.

"What was I saying?" James looked confused and Kendall rolled his eyes before speaking up.

"When is Gustavo going to start making us some more songs?" He demanded, getting straight to the point. "I mean, its not like we don't like our music already, but you can't live off of only one CD." He explained.

"Well, Gustavo is in a bit of a slump right now," Kelly replied truthfully. "When he's not peeling his dead skin, he's trying to write songs and so far, nothing has been working." She scanned the four boys and then her entire face lit up. "I have an idea," she stated. "Why don't you guys try writing your own songs?"

"Carlos can barely walk around without falling over something or being hit by something," Logan pointed out as he pointed to his helmet clad friend, who was currently hitting his head against the studio wall, trying to see what sound it would make with and without his helmet. "Do you really think that he could write a song?"

"Get to work," Kelly laughed as she shook her head. "We'll go over some of your lyrics tomorrow." She waved them out of the studio booth and they cheerfully bid their goodbyes before walking out of the recording studio and meeting up with the Jacksons in the hallway.

"Hey," Kendall smiled and gave Riley a hug, kissing her on the side of the head. "How are you?" He frowned when Riley glared at him and held out her wrists.

"No new scars if that's what you're asking." She stated in reply coolly. Kendall sighed and pushed her arms down, gently. "I mean, two weeks have gone by so I'm sure that you're wondering." She added, speaking of the two weeks that she and Rhuben refused to see any of the guys. But they agreed to see Jo, Camille, Stephanie, and Katie, as long as they didn't tell any of the guys what they talked about.

"I was actually asking about you, but I was wondering that too." Kendall replied as he brushed her hair back off of her forehead. "Thank you." She didn't smile and he turned to address all of the Jacksons. "So guess what? Kelly wants us to start writing some of our songs."

"Have you _written_ songs before?" Patrick asked as he raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"No," James stated after a second of silence. "But how hard could it be? You guys write your own music don't you?"

"Yeah, but it took a while before we wrote songs that we actually liked." Noah pointed out as he brushed his hair from his face. "I mean, this one song that we're working on now, Patrick and I have spent so many days writing and re-writing it just because there's always something that we don't like about it."

"Yeah, and then there's going to be something that someone else doesn't like," Rhuben spoke up, ignoring Logan as he stared at her, as if he was trying to get her attention. To show that he was there for her to talk to. "I mean, just because you like it doesn't mean that Gustavo or Kelly will."

"Are you _purposely _trying to keep us from writing music?" Carlos asked as he twirled his helmet in his hands. He looked down at it and gasped as his eyes lit up. "I could write a song about _helmets_!"

"NO!" James, Kendall, and Logan replied loudly.

"I rest my case." Rhuben replied with a shrug and smug smile.

Logan couldn't help but smile, he hadn't seen her in two weeks and she nor Riley ever answered their cell phones when he called. Even when it was Friday, the day that the three of them always spent together for some bonding time. Riley had answered his first call saying that she would call him back, but she never did. And looking at the two of them now, he could tell that they didn't even really want to be there. He didn't blame either of them; Riley was embarrassed with having everyone find out that she was cutting herself.

And Rhuben….was still pissed off at him, even though she never said it. He could just tell from the way that she was standing there. Her arms were crossed so that meant that she was closing herself off, and she was turned away from him, showing subconsciously that she didn't want to speak to him.

'_She doesn't even want to look at you'_ Logan sighed heavily. '_Well, with what I have to tell her, she should be happy to start talking to me again._' Logan thought as he waited for a moment to be able to speak with her.

"It's not going to be that hard," Riley stated in a reassuring tone. "Just don't wait too long to get started." She pulled her bag up her shoulder. "Where are you guys headed?"

"Back to the Palm Woods to hang out at the pool or something," Carlos replied casually. "James and Jo are going on a date later so he's going to get ready and that means that he's going to take the rest of the afternoon to do it."

"I'm guessing you're excited then." Noah commented with a chuckle when he saw the large smile on James' face. "Well, do you need any help?" she motioned to himself and Patrick. "Pat and I always help Ri-Ri and Rhu-Rhu when it comes to going out on dates and we do our own outfits when it comes to red carpet stuff."

"I'm sure that's the _only_ reason that you want to help them," Sydney stated as he casually looked at his nails. "Because the fact that Katie is going to be there has absolutely _nothing_ to do with it." He shook his head. "I don't know why you teenagers care so much about who's going out with who." He added cheekily.

"Trust me Syd," Rhuben spoke up as she placed a hand on her baby brother's face and pushed his backwards. "It's important."

There was another awkward silence that filled the air and everybody shuffled their feet nervously, not sure what to do or what to say. Logan looked over at his friends and widened his eyes a little bit as he tilted his head, letting them know that he wanted them to leave.

"Oh," Kendall turned to Riley who had noticed Logan's look. "Do you want me to walk you to your car?" he asked as he grabbed her bag off of her shoulder.

"Sure," she replied shortly before turning to her brothers. "Are you going to go with them back to the Palm Woods?" she asked. Patrick and Noah looked at each other before nodding. Sydney giggled as he shook his head before nodding as well. "Ok, then call if you need anyone to pick you up, in case Mrs. Knight can't drive you back, alright?"

"Promise." Sydney smiled and stuck out his hand, pinky extended. Riley wrapped her pinky around his and the two of them kissed the backs of their thumbs before pushing it together. Riley ruffled his hair and followed Kendall out of the hallway.

"I…have to go." James stated and made a face as he quickly walked after them, dragging Carlos along with him.

"Wow," Rhuben commented quietly as she watched her brothers and sister and friends leave. "You could have just written on your forehead, I want to be alone if you wanted them to leave faster." She stated as she turned and looked at Logan, her blue eyes burning into his. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to tell you," Logan licked his lips and took a breath. "That whatever was going on with me and Britt is over and she's gone. She went back to Minnesota."

"Really?" Rhuben raised an eyebrow.

"Really." Logan nodded in reply.

"_Britt, I need to talk to you." Logan stated as he walked over to the girl that was sitting in the Palm Woods lobby. She smiled pleasantly and motioned for him to sit in the chair opposite of her before asking what was up. "I know that you think that there's still something between us but there's not." He stated and rushed to continue before he lost his nerve. "Whatever we had has ended when we broke up."_

"_But Logan," Britt put down her script. "I know that there's still something there. I mean," she looked confused. "You can't…possibly like a girl like…Rhuben Jackson better than me, can you?"_

"_I love her," Logan replied simply. "I never loved you." He added. "There's a reason that we broke up in the first place, Britt. There was a reason that I broke up with you." He stated to be more clear. "You didn't seem to like me more than the idea of me being your boyfriend. And I'll admit at first it was great." Britt stated to smile, but her smile faded when Logan kept going. "I know it took me a while, but I finally figured out, with the help of my friends, that you never even really liked me. And now that you're doping it again, I can't even have you around."_

"_But, what do you even like about Rhuben?" Britt stated to sound panicky. "I can change, Logan. I promise that I can change for you."_

"_But then you would just be lying to yourself." Logan replied simply as he continued to tell her how he felt. She was starting to tear up and he hated to see girls cry, but he felt as if he didn't believe her tears at all. "What I love about Rhuben is the fact that she cares about people before herself, she has protected her brothers for years without worrying about herself being killed by the hands of her father. She has hopes and dreams as big as I have ever seen. And she's beautiful inside and out."_

"_So, what you're saying is that…you're really over me?" Britt asked in a whisper and tears started to roll down her cheeks when Logan nodded. "I understand."_

_Logan didn't believe her, but he didn't want to call her on her bluff either. He just wanted to believe what she was saying, as he was the kind of person that took people for their words. But either way you put it, he was done with her and he finally realized how much he had hurt Rhuben when she came around and he lied to her about it. After a few moments of silence, he asked one more question. "Is the only reason that you came out here was so you could see if we would get back together?" Britt nodded. "I see."_

"_I should call my mom and dad," Britt sighed as she stood up. "to tell them that this whole acting thing isn't working out." She shrugged a little bit as Logan stood up across from her._

"_I'm sure that things will go fine for you back home." He replied cordially._

"_Can I at least get a goodbye hug?" Britt asked innocently. Logan hesitated, weighing it in his head before shaking his head._

"_I don't think that's a good idea."_

"_I understand."_

"I explained to her that there was nothing between us anymore and I finally realized that the only reason she dated me in the first place and wanted to date me again was so she could use my fame." Logan continued to look at Rhuben, who just stared back at him.

"Alright," Rhuben replied simply and grabbed her bag from the ground and continued to walk out of the building. Logan stood there, speechless for a second, before running after her and standing in front of her, blocking her exit. "Yes?"

"That's all you have to say?" Logan questioned. "After I tell you that I've finally broken off everything with the girl that caused you and me to break up, all you have to say is 'alright'?"

"Pretty much." Rhuben replied.

"But I _love _you." Logan stated and Rhuben nodded once.

"I got you the first time."

"But I don't understand-"

"Exactly," Rhuben cut Logan off and once again he was staring at the girl he loved with his heart breaking with each passing second. "You don't understand." She sighed. "Logan, I get that you're sorry about Britt, and I get that you're upset about our breakup, and I get that you love me," she studied his eyes, making sure that he was paying attention. "But what I'm sure that you don't get is that actions speak louder than words."

"Meaning?" Logan asked quietly, listening to everything that she was saying.

"Meaning, don't keep telling me that you're sorry or that you love me, I understand that," Rhuben gripped the strap of her bag tightly. "But instead of telling me, why don't you show me." With that, she stepped around him and walked away.

Logan let out a frustrated cry as he grabbed onto his hair.

* * *

"When's Ronan and Julius supposed to get home?" Patrick asked as he brushed his hair out of his face. Noah flopped down on the couch next to him and placed his feet in his twin brother's lap as Patrick looked at his watch. "I mean, Ronan should be done with work and Julius should be back from the airport by now."

"Who knows," Sydney muttered in reply as he flipped through the TV channels. All five Jacksons were sitting in the living room, waiting for their new dad and their brother to get back before starting to eat dinner. "I just hope they hurry up."

They all tensed and looked up as the sound of their security system went off, letting them know that someone had just opened the back door. Riley slowly got off of the couch, exchanging looks with her brothers and sister as she moved. Rhuben quickly pushed Sydney off of her lap as she got up and moved to stand by her sister.

"Ronan?" Riley called quietly, frowning when there was no answer, but she could clearly hear the back door close. "Julius? Is that you?"

"Don't go," Sydney whimpered when he heard no answer. "Don't go, stay here."

"We'll be right back," Rhuben replied as she turned to see the three of them looking back at her, faces showing expressions of fear. "You three just stay there."

Riley and Rhuben continued to move towards the kitchen. The two noticed someone standing in the middle of the kitchen, as if waiting for them and as Riley reached out and snapped on the lights, Rhuben screamed in pain as her dad whipped his belt across her cheek. He pushed her onto the floor and kneeled onto her legs so she wouldn't get away and raised the belt over his head.

"I've been waiting all day to do this" he hissed and brought the belt down on her back with a crack. Rhuben screamed in pain. The belt ripped through her shirt and hit the skin on her back repeatedly. Every hit caused the immense pain. It robbed her of my breath as she screamed in agony, not having felt that pain in such a long time.

"Knock it off!" Riley pulled back her fist and punched him across the face; blood spurted out of his nose and fell on her hand as she heard the bones in his nose crunch. Robert fell off of Rhuben, who had already passed out due to the dizzying pain. She turned towards the living room. "Run!" she shouted towards he brothers as Robert grabbed her by the hair and quickly moved the belt over her head and around her neck, squeezing it so tight she fell unconscious almost immediately.

Patrick and Noah knew that something was wrong as soon as they heard Rhuben's scream, but they couldn't bring themselves to move. Sydney, on the other hand, had moved across the room and was now kneeling on the couch between the twin brothers. The three watched, eyes wide with fear, as Ronan walked towards them from the kitchen. The three of them began to back up as their eyes stayed on their father, slowly at first until they turned around completely and began sprinting for the staircase. Noah could hear Robert thundering behind the stairs, and he whipped his head around for a second.

Big mistake.

He hit the second step and fell.

Hard.

Patrick and Sydney crashed into him and he fell too. Robert finally caught up to them at their place on the stairs and grabbed them by the hair. He pulled them from the stairs to a corner in the room and lifted them up by his hair to a standing position-the small boys screamed of pain, salty tears making waterfalls down their flushed cheeks. Holding back their shoulders tightly against the wall with one hand, he used the other to repeatedly hit them at any place he could reach above the shoulders.

Noah didn't physically struggle, just listened as he screamed insults and profanities at him and his twin and his baby brother, trying to hold back the tears of pain that were winning a battle against his eyelids. Each hit came faster and harder than the one before it, and he executed the last one so hard that they sunk to the floor, hands over his face in a sort of shield. It wasn't fair, he knew that he had the power and the strength to keep their father away, but for whatever reason he felt like he always did when his dad was around. A pathetic little kid.

Patrick's face was raging with pain and seemed as if it had spread to the rest of his body. He felt lightheaded and weak and was stuck on the ground, leaning on the wall for support to keep him from passing out. His head was buried in his skinny arms, his thin legs pulled against his chest.

Sydney was in between Patrick and Noah as the two of them tried to keep their father from getting to the little boy. He was crying hard, his face hurt, and he wasn't sure if it was blood or tears that was making his face feel all sticky.

And just as fast as they had ended, the blows started again. Now they came from his father's foot and were directed at their legs. It hurt so badly that they uncurled themselves and he immediately began kicking their stomachs. All they could do was scream. He kicked harder, and they stopped-it hurt to breathe. He brought each kick hard and swift at the exact same place on their stomach. Every time it connected, the air was knocked out of the boys and they were at a loss for breath.

"You thought that you could get away from me!" he shouted in between kicks.

He paused for a minute, waiting.

"I…I…" Patrick tried to choke out, but he couldn't breathe.

He tried again but without any luck. Each breathe he took came in short and wasn't filling his lungs. He tried, really tried, his hardest to reclaim any bead of energy he may have had left so that he could give him a signal, a nod, something to show him that he understood. That he would never lie to him again.

That he would bow down to Robert, give in, and satisfy him.

But he couldn't. He watched in horror as Robert sighed in frustration and gave them one last kick.

Then he undid his belt and held it above him like a sword.

"What's going on?" Before Patrick could register what was happening, he felt himself being lifted to his feet before he was helped over to the couch. He lay down on the cushions, taking in huge gulps of air, realizing that he was hyperventilating and that he wasn't getting enough air. A second later, an inhaler was shoved into his mouth and his breathing started to ease. He looked up and saw Ronan standing over him as Julius moved back and forth from Sydney and Noah. "Where're Riley and Rhuben?"

Patrick pointed over to the kitchen and Ronan and Julius hurried over, stopping short when they saw the girls lying on the ground. Julius carefully picked up Rhuben asked Ronan grabbed Riley, walking the two of them to the living room. As soon as they were set down, they woke up fairly quickly.

"What happened?" Rhuben demanded, looking at her brothers. She could see their shiny faces and knew that Robert had gotten to them.

"That's what we were getting ready to ask you." Ronan replied as he gently pushed her back down as he tried to get up.

"Dad was here!" Riley blurted out without thinking. "We saw him, all of us did!" she stated to look hysterical. "He came in through the back door and started to hit us."

"What happened to your hand?" Julius asked when he noticed that there was blood on it.

"I punched dad in the face," Riley replied. "I'm telling you, he was here."

"Where _were_ you when you punched him?" Ronan questioned gently, yet firmly. He had to know what was going on, he had an idea, but he couldn't be too sure himself. "Show me." Riley slowly got off of the ground and she and Rhuben walked into the kitchen, pointing out to Julius and Ronan where they had been attacked.

"Right here," she replied. "I punched him."

"You punched the window over the sink," Julius replied. At his statement his little sisters looked over at him with shocked expressions. "See?" he pointed to the window, which had a jagged hole in the corner. Riley looked at her hand, saw the blood, and lightly ran her fingers over the knuckles, feeling little shards of glass.

He was right.

Rhuben grabbed onto her hair and started to breathe heavily. "What's going on?" she shouted desperately. "I'm not going crazy! _We're_ not going crazy!"

"No, you're not." Ronan agreed as Julius pulled his sister into his chest as he whispered to her, to calm her down. "Follow me, I want to talk to you guys about this." Julius, Riley, and Rhuben followed Ronan back into the living room. "Listen, I know that you guys didn't want to tell me that you kept seeing your dad, but I know you have."

"How did you know?" Sydney whispered, still sniffling.

"Well, I could tell from the expressions on your face," Ronan replied. "You would suddenly look really scared as you stood there and the only time that I had ever seen that expression was when he would be around you guys." He explained gently. "And Julius recognized the look because he had that look too, from what he tells me at least." Julius's siblings looked over at him and he nodded.

"I've been getting really worried about you guys lately," Julius added. "Especially after Riley started to cut herself again," At that, Riley hung her head in shame. "But it's not her fault. None of this is your fault. If anything, it's Ronan's and my fault."

"I don't understand." Noah voiced everyone's thought.

"I've been seeing a therapist for years," Julius explained. "I started right after I got out of our house to go to college, because I knew that that would make me feel better." He took a breath. "And now, it makes me realize that the only reason that I haven't seen dad is because I've been able to talk about it and figured out how to handle it."

"In other words," Ronan jumped in. "All you guys have ever done since you started to get abused is hide it and you've hid it so much that your brain has caused you to keep thinking that your dad is around. The fact that you didn't talk about it, that you haven't faced your past is just haunting you. So what we're going to do is start sending you guys to a therapist."

"But, we're also going help you guys come to terms about your past." Julius added.

"Meaning?" Rhuben questioned.

"Meaning that we're going back home," Julius replied simply. "To Australia."

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is the last one that focuses mainly on the Jacksons, the next ones focuses mainly on Big Time Rush. I hope you guys liked it and I hope you like how you finally figure out why the Jacksons were seeing Robert so much. I'll update soon, most likely tomorrow. Is there anything that you would like to see in this story?**

**PS -Did you guys hear the preview to the song 'This is Our Someday'? I love it already and I haven't heard the whole song yet! ^-^  
**

**-Riley**


	18. Big Time Surprise

**.:Chapter Eighteen – Big Time Surprise:.**

**

* * *

**"Carlos?" Stephanie asked quietly.

"Yeah?" Carlos replied absentmindedly as he stroked her hair.

"What are you thinking about?" Stephanie questioned as she looked up into the face of her boyfriend. They two were on a date at Golden Gate Park and after a long time of walking around and seeing the sights, the two of them were sitting on a bench, Stephanie's head was against Carlos' shoulder and he had an arm around her, to keep her warm. Carlos thought for a second and then Stephanie voiced his thoughts. "You're thinking of the Jacksons aren't you?"

"Yeah," Carlos replied after a second and then smiled down at his girlfriend. "Sometimes I hate how you know me so well." His smile faded. "I'm just thinking about how they're always trying to make themselves happy by hiding their feelings because they care about people other than themselves, and it pretty much ended up backfiring in their faces."

"I know," Stephanie grabbed his hand and held onto it tightly. "I can't stop thinking about how they were being hit by their dad, messed up into thinking that whatever they did was wrong." She sighed. "It's not a good life for everyone. But it's a good thing that they're going back home to face their past."

"Yeah, I know." Carlos kissed her forehead and smiled. "Anyway, so we don't have to talk about such depressing matters, let's get some ice cream or something."

"Alright," Stephanie smiled back and the two got up and started to walk to find the nearest ice cream shop. "Wait!" She screeched to a halt, causing Carlos, who was still walking forward, to stop and get pulled back too.

"What?" Carlos asked as he looked at her incredulously. "Did you change your mind about the ice cream? Because I _really_ want ice cream."

"No, Carlos, listen," Stephanie brushed her hair behind her ear and turned to her boyfriend, hazel eyes side with excitement. "We've been friends with the Jacksons for a while and they've helped us with everything that we've done right? My film, Camille's acting, Jo's singing _and_ acting, and your guys' band, right?"

"Yeah," Carlos replied as he nodded slowly, not sure what she was getting at.

"So, how are we helping them by letting them go off back home without our support?" Stephanie questioned and waited for Carlos to get what she was getting at.

Carlos blinked innocently. "So we're _not_ going to get ice cream?" he questioned.

Stephanie rolled her eyes and grabbed her boyfriend's wrist before hurrying out of Golden Gate Park to get a taxi. They waited a few minutes to get one and then rushed their driver to get them back to the Palm Woods as fast as possible. When they got back, it was after 9:00 and they knew that Bitters was going to be watching the lobby like a hawk, to make sure that no one was breaking any rules.

"So, how are we going to get by him?" Stephanie whispered as the two of them crouched behind a chair in the lobby.

"Like this," Carlos army crawled across the floor and pulled the fire alarm before diving back behind a chair. Bitters ran out from behind the front desk, screaming at the top of his lungs, and ran out of the Palm Woods as people started to appear, also as frantic. "Now we just go up to the apartment and tell them that everything's fine." He stated calmly as he pulled Stephanie behind him as he walked to apartment 2J.

Many screaming people ran by them, but they continued to walk along as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Stephanie sighed as she rubbed her forehead, muttering something about going to jail under her breath.

"You say something, dear?" Carlos asked teasingly.

"No, honey," Stephanie replied in the same manner. "It's just…you _do_ know that pulling the fire alarm without there actually being fire is against the law, right?" Stephanie questioned as she hurried along with him.

"Yeah, well, so was practically everything else that we did back in Minnesota," Carlos replied with a careless shrug and then looked over at Stephanie with a grin. "You wouldn't _believe_ all of the stuff that we got into when we were bored."

"I can imagine." Stephanie replied as she rolled her eyes, although she couldn't help but smile. The two ran into Camille and Jo before they made it to the boys' apartment.

"What are you guys just walking around here calmly for?" Camille shrieked. "There's a fire!"

"No there's not," Stephanie replied and held up Carlos' hand that had a purple smudge on it. Jo and Camille gaped at him. "Yeah, we know it's illegal, but the only reason that Carlos did that was so we wouldn't get caught by Bitters when we got back in from our date."

"Ooh," Jo smiled. "How was it?"

"Well, we-"

"Girls," Carlos interrupted them. "You can talk about _me_ all you want later." He started to push them towards the apartment. "But right now, Stephanie and I have something that we need to tell everybody."

"Ok, let's go then." Camille replied and led the way to 2J. Instinctively, she knocked on the door, but getting no answer, Carlos reached out and pushed the door open. Apparently they hadn't heard the fire alarm going off, as the volume on the TV and arcade games were up so loud that it was causing Carlo's ears to ring.

"Hey!" Carlos shouted, trying to get his friends' attention. But when that didn't happen, he sucked in a deep breath. "HEY GUYS!" He screamed.

"Oh, hey!" James shouted over the noise of the TV. He, Kendall, and Katie were watching a hockey game and Katie was playing one of my motorcycle racing arcade games that they had in the corner of the apartment. "How was your date?" he finally looked away from the TV as Kendall and Logan jumped to their feet, screaming and shouting. "Hi girls, what are you doing here?"

"Can you turn it down a little?" Stephanie asked, wincing as she held her hands over her ears.

"What?" Kendall shouted back, cupping his ear.

"Turn it down!" Jo and Stephanie shouted in unison.

"WHAT?" Kendall shouted again as Logan pressed the 'mute' button on the remote.

"TURN IT DOWN!" Jo, Camille, and Stephanie screamed in unison, blinking when they realized that they had just screamed in absolute silence.

"You don't have to yell." Kendall replied calmly as he flicked his head to move his hair out of his face. "What are you guys doing here? And what's that ringing sound?" he asked as he looked up at the ceiling, noticing the fire alarm blinking. "Carlos, what did you do?" He demanded as he placed his hands on his hips.

"How did you know it was me?" Carlos looked genuinely surprised before smiling. "Stephanie and I didn't want to get caught by Bitters so we pulled the fire alarm."

"We?"

"See!"

"You pulled the fire alarm?" Logan's eyes bulged. "Do you know how stupid that is? Are you aware that it's against the law? Pulling the fire alarm without there being a fire can cause you to be put into a juvenile correctional facility and about 50 hours of community service."

"I can handle that," Carlos replied with a wave of his hand. "But we have something that we need to talk about." He replied as he closed the apartment door and looked around. "Where's Mama Knight?"

"She's sleeping," James replied. "And don't even try to wake her up; she's wearing those really heavy headphones so she can't hear a thing." He added before walking over to Jo and giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Do you know what this is about?" he asked.

"No," Jo replied as she shook her head. "We ran into them in the hall."

"Trust me, we have a good reason for this," Stephanie replied and waved over to Katie, motioning for her to abandon her game and to listen to what they had to say. Katie complied and scurried over, plopping herself into her brother's lap, ignoring his grunt of pain. "So, Carlos and I were on our way back from our date when we were talking about how the Jacksons were going back home to Australia."

"Steph and I realized that even though they were going through their abuse or whatever else was going on with them, they still took time out of their day to help us with whatever we needed help on," Carlos explained as he took off his helmet and set it down on the coffee table. "So we thought that we would go and repay the favor."

"And how do you propose that we do that?" Logan asked as he raised an eyebrow. "It's not like we can have a party, because one," he held up a finger. "I'm all partied out, and two," he held up another finger. "We don't have much money for more decorations or cake or anything."

"No, we're going to go to Australia with them," Stephanie replied as she shook her head, smiling a little. "I mean, how else are we going to repay them besides doing what they did for us? We're going to support their recovery by going along for moral reasons."

Camille smiled and clapped excitedly. "I love it!" she declared. "That's a great idea. Besides, I've _always_ wanted to go to Australia to see if I could meet Hugh Jackman."

"Me too," Jo agreed with a dreamy smile. "He's so hot."

"Hello?" James waved a hand in front of her face. "Remember me? The face of the band? The hot one?"

"Yeah, I remember." Jo replied as she patted his hand gently.

"That is a good idea," Kendall muttered as he rubbed his chin and then the excited look in his green eyes deflated as he thought of something important. "But where are we going to get the money to be able to go?" he and his friends turned when they heard scratching noise and saw Mrs. Knight pulling hers and Katie's suitcases out from their room. "Mom, what are you doing?"

"I'm packing," Mrs. Knight replied as if it was obvious, as she turned to face everyone. "It was only a matter of time until you got the idea to go down to Australia," she replied. "So Ronan told me to get ready for it just in case." She smiled. "I guess he's used to things like this because his kids are exactly the same."

"Unbelievable," Kendall stated as he shook his head, smiling a little bit.

"So, wait, what are we going to do about the money?" Katie asked, brining the attention back to the big subject at hand. "I can't sell anymore of the guys' stuff to crazy fans." She looked innocent as the boys looked at her in disgust and outrage. "What? It was nothing that bad, just a bunch of used tissues and stuff." The boys looked even more disgusted.

"Don't be so surprised at what fans will buy from you." Camille laughed. "I once heard of someone buying sweat from Johnny Depp."

"Money, money, where can we get money?" Logan asked as he rubbed his chin. "I know," he smiled smugly. "We'll each go into our bank accounts and get the money that we need for the plane tickets."

"Can we just rob the bank?" Carlos asked with and excited grin. "I've wanted to cross that off my bucket list! Along with bungee jumping and taking a bite out of the sun."

"Carlos, you can't take a bite out of the sun-"

"Don't crush his dreams," Jo stated as she placed a hand over James' mouth. "No matter how far-fetched the dream is, don't crush them."

"We're _not_ going to rob a bank either," Kendall replied and then chuckled. "No matter how much fun that would be. "We're going to go do the next best thing."

* * *

"Please Gustavo, please?" Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan begged in unison, holding onto Gustavo's legs. Gustavo and Kelly looked at them as if they were crazy before Gustavo snapped his fingers. Freight Train appeared out of nowhere and easily dragged the four boys off of him. "NOT AGAIN!"

"Down, Freight Train!" Gustavo commanded and Freight Train opened his arms, dropping the four boys to the ground. "Now, why would I want to pay _you_ to skip time that you could be using to rehearse to send you and your little girlfriends off to Australia?"

"Because you know that the Jacksons are our friends," Logan replied, trying not to wince at the word 'girlfriends'. "And that we care about them a lot." Gustavo didn't look convinced. "And you know that Ronan is your friend." He still didn't speak. "And because we might be able to get a fan base in another country."

"Interesting," Gustavo mulled as he walked over to his desk and sat down, pretending to think about it. Kelly rolled her eyes as she walked across his office and stood next to her boss.

"_And_ because deep down you like them as much as you like the boys." She added as she motioned to Big Time Rush, who managed to smile despite the grimaces that they were giving as Freight Train was still crushing them.

"What?" Gustavo laughed nervously. "When did I _ever_ say that I liked those brats?" he started to laugh nervously as Kelly turned and gave the boys a pointed look.

"So you're telling me that you don't remember…"

_"Kacy's right," Gustavo replied, surprising showing a different side of himself. Even though he hated to admit it, he actually sort of…liked the Jacksons. They weren't afraid to talk back to him, and they did make great music. "It's not like this Linda chick is going to be dumb enough to send them off with some other person they don't know." He looked at Kacy, Kelly, and Ronan, who were staring at him, noticing how he wasn't acting like himself and he cleared his throat. "Hot in here?" he asked in his almost shouting tone. "This is nice Champagne, what year?"_

"You misunderstood me!" Gustavo replied quickly. Kelly and Big Time Rush just stared back at him, eyebrows raised. "I was delirious?" he tried and Kelly crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head. "Fine." He sighed heavily. "I like them ok?" he sighed heavily. "And if you dogs are happy, then that means that you'll perform better." He sighed heavily again. "How much do you need?"

"YES!" The boys' shouts turned squeaky as Freight Train squeezed them out of excitement. "DOWN, FREIGHT TRAIN! DOWN!"

* * *

"When does the plane leave?" Patrick asked in annoyance as he tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. "We've been here for _forever_!"

"Patty, it's only been ten minutes." Noah replied as he looked up from the book that he was reading. He gave a shadow of a smile and shook his head. "You're so impatient."

"How many times have I told you to _stop _calling me Patty?"

"About as many times as I've told _you_ to stop calling me Noahy."

Rhuben smiled as she took a picture of the two of them and then turned the camera to Riley and Julius, who were looking at his iPhone and talking about something. Ronan was sitting in his chair, reading a newspaper. Sydney was sitting on the floor, typing away on his laptop; Rhuben took a picture of him before walking over.

"Watcha working on Baby Syd?" she questioned as she sat beside him.

"I'm typing up a note to put on our website to tell our fans why we're going back to Australia," Sydney explained as he cracked his knuckles. "Because I'm sure that they know that we're going back by now. I'm telling them that I hope they respect our privacy and back off a bit," he gave a small smile. "But you know how some of them can be."

"Yeah, I know," Rhuben sighed in reply. She looked at her watch. Their flight didn't leave for another hour and she was already bored. She looked around at her siblings before smiling a little bit. Patrick noticed her smile and raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was smiling about. "C'mon guys, tell me what we're doin'. We're hangin' around when we could be all over the place." She sang and her siblings smiled, immediately catching on.

"The sun is shinin' just the way we like it," Julius sang next, smiling to himself, as he hadn't sang in a while. "Let's get outta this hallway show the world our face."

"It's Friday, but there's nowhere to go," Riley sang as she elbowed her brother in the side, nodding. "Anywhere is cool, but we're not goin' home."

Patrick took a breath before singing. "We can do anything we wanna do. It's all up to me and you."

"Turn this park into a club, the stars are lights, and the moon is the vibe from above." Noah and Rhuben sang in unison, smiling at each other.

"Skateboards here's our ride so pull on up, everyone is waiting for us." Riley and Sydney sang in harmony, Sydney's voice a little bit of a higher pitch than Riley's.

"Anywhere we are, anywhere we go, everybody knows, we got the party with us." All five of them sang in unison, getting some people's attention. They all turned and watched as the Jacksons sang, intrigued expression on their faces. Ronan couldn't help but smile widely as he watched his kids sing. "Anywhere we are, anywhere we go, everybody knows, we got the party with us."

"I'm going to get something to eat from the McDonalds," Riley stated as she stood up, brushing off her clothes. "Do any of you guys want something?" she blinked as her siblings started shouting things that they wanted to have to eat. "Ok, I didn't get any of that, let me-"

She stopped as there suddenly were arms around her waist and she was lifted off of the floor, in a tight, bone crushing hug. "Guess who" A familiar voice sang in her ear as the arms crushed Riley tighter.

"Too tight, Carlos, too tight." She gasped as her eyes started to water at the lack of air.

"Sorry." Carlos put her on the ground and grinned as she looked back at him and their friends, who were standing behind him, looking as if they had grown a second head. "What? Aren't you happy to see us?"

"That's not it," Rhuben replied slowly as she looked at each of them. "What are you doing here?" she looked down. "And with carryon luggage?" she turned to Gustavo. "What are you going to take them to the jungle and strand them there?"

"Well, I _had_ thought about that," Kelly elbowed Gustavo in the side and he grunted before motioning to the boys. "Let them explain it, it was there idea." He turned to Ronan and clasped him on the shoulder causing the younger man to get knocked off his feet and back into his chair. "Where can we get some decent coffee around here?"

Ronan sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "Follow me." He replied as he walked by Gustavo, Kelly, and Mrs. Knight and led them towards the Starbucks. He waited until he was far away from his kids before smiling and turning towards them.

"I didn't think that you would actually go along with them wanting to go to Australia." He commented.

"Yeah, well," Gustavo shrugged. "We were in need of another vacation." He replied.

"Especially after how bad the last one was." Kelly added.

"And my son and daughter were sort of depressed and knew that their friends were a little sad so they decided to try and help cheer them up." Mrs. Knight replied with a smile. "And I've always wanted to see Australia."

"The only way that they got Gustavo to agree to let them go was by Logan's telling them that they would get a bigger fan base in another country." Kelly added. "This wouldn't hurt of course."

"Of course," Ronan agreed.

Back with the Jackson and their friends, Jo couldn't help but notice that they didn't seem that happy that they were there. But then again, they could always be completely shocked about what was going on.

"I'm glad that we got here in time." She stated as she moved forward and gave Riley and Rhuben tight hugs. "We thought that we were late, because _James_ was packing so much stuff."

"Wait, I don't get it," Patrick rubbed his forehead as if he was trying to get rid of a headache. He turned and pointed to Katie. "_You_ and all of them," he waved to the group that was standing with her. "Are coming with us to Australia?"

"That's right" she replied with a grin.

"Why?" Noah deadpanned and then looked panicked. "I didn't mean that to be as rude as it sounded." He added hastily.

"It was Stephanie and Carlos' idea actually," Camille replied and motioned over to the two of them. "So you should ask them."

"We realized that you guys are probably some of the best friends that we've ever had," Stephanie explained with an excited grin, practically bouncing on the tips of her toes. "And that you're always willing to put aside whatever you're doing to help us."

"So we decided to return the favor." Carlos butted in; _he_ was bouncing up and down on his toes. "Are you happy?"

"I am," Julius stated from where he was still sitting in his chair. He reached forward and mussed Sydney's hair. "I'm glad that these guys have friends who care about them as much as they care about you." He turned to Riley and Rhuben. "Well?"

"You guys _do_ know the reason why we're going to Australia, right?" Rhuben asked as she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. Her friends nodded in reply.

"And you're still willing to come along and help us?" Riley asked just to make sure. She gave a half smile when they nodded and she turned to her siblings. "What do you say, Rhu?"

"Oh," Rhuben looked amused. "Now you're giving _me_ the change to have the last word?"

"I could always take it back."

"No, I'll use it," Rhuben smirked as she looked at the ceiling, using her sweet time to make her friends feel uncomfortable. Finally, she lowered her gaze and smirked at her friends as she shrugged. "I think you guys are the best jerks in the world." She stated with a laugh. "Because you guys kept this from me, because I hate surprises."

"Well we're glad to do this for you anyway." Stephanie said as the girls came together in a group hug, laughing as they stumbled over their bags. "Are you mad?"

"Not at all," Patrick declared as he smiled, giving his friends hugs. "We're glad that you guys are doing this for us."

Rhuben pulled away from the girls before walking over to Logan and grabbing his arm, pulling him a few steps away from the group. "I'm assuming that it was you that got Gustavo to agree to get you guys to come here." She said as a statement, not a question.

Logan didn't bother to try and deny it. "Yeah," he ran his hand through his hair. "He wouldn't budge until I told him that we would most likely get a bigger fan base while we're in Australia." He shrugged. "Of course Gustavo only thought about the band's future instead of the people that we were trying to help."

"Thank You," Rhuben stated as she rubbed her arm, not looking at him. "I know that this is going to help us a lot."

"It's no problem," Logan replied as he reached out and tucked her strand of purple hair behind her ear, smiling when she didn't pull away or push his hand away. He chuckled when Rhuben turned her head to watch an airplane takeoff. "Do you still need someone to hold your hand on the plane?"

"That depends," Rhuben replied as she turned back to face him. "Are you offering or is James?"

"James is with Jo and I know that he doesn't want to face her wrath when she gets mad," Logan replied. "Since she does martial arts and all."

Rhuben chuckled and smiled a little, Logan was thrilled to see a glimmer of a sparkle in her eyes. "Yeah, I'd like that."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is shorter than the others, there really wasn't much that I could put into it to get to the point anyway, but the next chapter will either be up later tonight or early tomorrow. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter anyway. Did you guys watch Big Time Concert? What did you think?**

**PS – Reviews make me update faster :) We got the party with us is owned by Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brother. (I like the song even though I'm not a fan of either of them.)**

**Next few chapters are when they're in Australia, some are going to be happy chapters and some are going to be sad ones, but I hope you guys will like it anyway.**

**-Riley**


	19. Big Time Australia Pt1: Facing The Past

**.:Chapter Nineteen – Big Time Australia Part 1:.**

**

* * *

**"Oh my god, I'm exhausted" Jo moaned as she rubbed her eyes, stepping off of the plane. "How long was that flight?" she asked as they started to go to the baggage claim. Big Time Rush, Gustavo, Kelly, Mrs. Knight, Jo, Camille, Katie, and Stephanie were walking really slowly and yawning as they rubbed their eyes. It was obvious that they hadn't taken a flight that long before.

"About 14 hours." Patrick replied as if it was nothing. He smiled when they all groaned and collapsed where they stood. "Oh come on, it's not that bad." He sighed as he shook his head, noticing that they still weren't getting up. "How about this? We'll get your bags." He motioned to his siblings and they started to walk to the baggage claim.

"Wow," James commented as he brushed his hair off of his forehead. "You can already tell that they're happier here." Jo looked concerned at the statement.

"You don't think that they're going to move back here do you?" she asked and her friends turned to look at her and she flushed. "Not that I wouldn't want them to be happy, but I mean, it would be weird to know that they're not in California with us."

"We get what you mean, Jo," Kendall replied with a compassionate smile. "But we shouldn't worry about that, we should just worry about them getting better."

"Yeah," Carlos agreed with a nod. "_Plus_ we're in a different country, one that I've _always _wanted to go to."

"Really?" Logan looked skeptical. "You've _always_ wanted to go to Australia?" he snorted and looked at his friend as he shook his head. "Since when?"

"Since I figured out what zorbing is, it looks fun." Carlos replied with a happy smile. Stephanie rolled her eyes and shook her head, she was used to her boyfriend always being crazy and wanting to do stuff, but sometimes she just wanted to sit down and rest.

"Whatever you guys want to do is fine," Ronan chuckled as he looked down at them. "But what I suggest that you do is get up off of the ground before all Australians thinks that Americans are crazy for sitting down on the ground in the middle of a terminal." He advised as he watched a bunch of people walk by.

"You guys are going to get used to the time difference, but I do suggest that you get some sleep when we get to our house." Julius replied and then looked panicked as he rubbed his chin, turning to Gustavo and Kelly. "Are you going to get the guys a hotel to stay in?" he questioned.

"Yes, we already paid for it," Kelly replied with a nod. "So I don't get what the problem is." She replied and then turned to the girls. "Oh, I see. Well, we could always pay for a few more hotel rooms…"

"No, um," Ronan rubbed his chin. "Well at their," he paused as he thought. "I guess it's my house now." He shook his head. "Anyway, we can fit Kacy, Katie, Jo, Camille, and Stephanie into the guest rooms as long as you don't mind sharing some of them."

"That's fine," Camille replied readily. "Mrs. Knight can have her own room and we can figure out who is sharing with who later." She then turned back to Julius and Ronan. "Thank you, Mr. McGuire."

"Ronan's fine." Ronan replied quickly as he held up a hand.

"So, are you kids going by your last name or theirs?" Mrs. Knight asked as she turned to face him. Ronan looked at her blankly before turning to Julius, who decided to answer.

"Jackson is actually our last name," Julius explained. "And it's only a coincidence that our adoptive dad's last name was Jackson too." He smiled. "Actually, Jackson is a very common last name, so I don't know what I'm talking about." He looked over at his new dad. "I'm going to stay by my last name, but you can ask my brothers and sisters what they want."

"No, I don't want them to feel as if they have to choose." Ronan replied as he shook his head.

"That's right!" Gustavo declared, his voice echoing along the terminal as people turned and tired to figure out where the voice was coming from. "You don't give them the choice! You demand it!"

"Gustavo, be a little quieter," Julius instructed as he waved a hand in front of his face. "We Aussies may be nice people, but we won't hesitate to show you that we don't like you either." Gustavo went to say something, but Kelly elbowed him in the side, causing him to shut up. He looked amused as he turned and saw his siblings walking back over, carrying lots of bags, as there was a small crowd that was following them. "I'm assuming that the fans found them." He joked.

"Ok," Rhuben looked annoyed as she put an armful of suitcases down. "Who brought six suitcases?" Kendall, Logan, and Carlos turned and looked at James, who looked innocent as Rhuben glared. "What do you need all of those suitcases for?"

"Hair care products and facial stuff." James replied quietly and then looked defensive. "Hey, you have to work hard to get a face like this!"

"Not unless you're born with it." Riley commented and laughed a little. "You know 'cause we were born with-"she motioned to her and her siblings and stopped laughing when she saw everyone staring at her. "Not funny?"

"No, it's not." Patrick stated as he gently patted her head. "None of them are, we just pretend that they're funny so you don't get mad at us." He turned and blinked when there were camera flashes in his face. "Can we make this fast?" he questioned his siblings, who nodded. "Good, because I don't like turning down fans and we need to get these guys to beds so they can sleep."

With that, Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney addressed the small crowd of fans that had formed and started to pose for pictures and sign autographs. As Logan watched, he couldn't help but notice how at ease and genuinely social the Jacksons were being to their fans. And their fans were acting calm and polite too.

'_I guess there really __is__ something different about Australia,_' Logan thought with a half smile. '_One day I think I'm going to move here_.'

When the Jacksons waved to their fans and turned back to their friends, they quickly distributed the suitcases and left the terminal as quickly as possible. Finally, Ronan, Gustavo, and Kelly sorted out the rental cars and then they all drove over to the Jacksons' house. Instead of going to the hotel, Ronan suggested that they just go straight to the house because everyone looked like they were going to pass out anyway. And that was true, as soon as they had gotten to the house and the suitcases were taken out of the cars, they all collapsed on chairs, couches, or on the floor and fell asleep.

"Wow," Noah commented as he rubbed the back of his head. "I wonder how they'll react when we tell them that it's only eight o'clock in the morning here."

* * *

"Are they still sleeping?" Ronan asked Julius as he walked into the living room, where his eldest son was watching TV, although a laptop was on his lap. Julius snorted as he scrolled through a few websites while going back and forth between his siblings' website.

"They were just on a fourteen hour flight where the time change went to seventeen hours ahead, yeah, I'd think that they're still tired." Julius replied as he leaned closer to his laptop screen, smiling a little bit. Ronan noticed and raised an eyebrow.

"Your eyesight will get as bad as Patrick's if you continue to do that." He warned and then looked curious. "What are you looking at anyway?"

"Nothing," Julius replied quickly and held his laptop to his chest. Ronan raised an eyebrow as he looked at his eldest son and Julius sighed as he pulled the laptop away. "Ok," he replied and avoided his dad's gaze. "I know that you're going to say that it's too soon and everything but…" he looked around to make sure that no one was in the room listening to them. Finally, he turned the laptop around and showed Ronan that he was looking at a bunch of rings. "I was…thinking of asking Brittany to marry me."

"You _do_ realize that you're only 18, right?" Ronan asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to be nineteen in November." Julius replied indignantly and rolled his eyes. "I know that you're going to say that I'm too young, but I've been thinking about this for a while. Brittany and I have been dating for a long, _long_ time and she's the only girl that I have dated that I actually love."

"What about your brothers and sisters?" Ronan questioned, listening patiently.

"Well, I'd be working with them a lot as it is," Julius replied as he leaned back on the couch. "And Brittany loves them like her own family, and my brothers and sisters like her a lot. So I think they would be happy with it." He paused before continuing. "I thought about this for a long time, and I'm not going to rush into getting married, we're probably going to wait a year or so before we actually _do_ get married."

"Who's getting married?" Sydney questioned. Julius turned and saw his five brothers and sisters' heads poking around the doorway to the living room. Julius' eyes widened. "You're going to ask Brittany to marry you?"

"Do her parents even know?" Rhuben questioned.

"No," Julius replied slowly. "Because I've only _just_ started thinking about it." He replied and gave a smile. "Don't worry," he stated as if he could read their minds. "I'm still going to be around, so you don't have to worry about missing me."

"Oh it wasn't that," Riley replied with a smirk as they all walked into the room and crowded around on the couch to look at the laptop. "We were arguing over who got your room."

"Speaking of which," Ronan spoke up with a fond smile as he watched them gather around. His smile faded and a serious look replaced it. "When are you guys going to go back to your old house?"

"Later today," Rhuben replied as she brushed her hair off of her forehead, letting out a sigh. "We were planning on showing them around Sydney first." She replied. "You know, the Sydney Harbor, the Opera house, go into town to see the little shops…stuff like that."

"Sounds fun." Ronan replied with a smile. "But you're going to be on your own for the day; I'm going to show Gustavo, Kelly, and Kacy around Blazing Phoenix Records. Plus, we still have to have the official Gold ceremony for the boys."

"Well, we're only going to be here for a couple of days, so it shouldn't be that hard to have a party." Riley replied as she took Julius' laptop and jabbed t the screen. "I think this ring is a good one."

"No, this one," Noah replied as he jabbed at another part. "It's bigger."

"Don't touch the screen! Don't touch the screen!" Julius cried as he lifted the laptop high above his hand as five pairs of hands went shooting all over the screen. "You _know_ I hate it when there're fingerprints all over the screen."

"You also hate it whenever we go into your room, but that doesn't stop us." Patrick commented with a grin. Julius smiled back and flicked his brother on the forehead. "Ow" he laughed as he rubbed his forehead.

"What's going on?" Kendall yawned as he walked into the room, rubbing his eyes. "How long was I asleep?" he added squinting his eyes against the sunlight that was streaming through the window at the back of the room.

"About two hours." Rhuben replied as she looked at her watch. "It's only ten o'clock in the morning."

"Ugh," Kendall rubbed his face. "It feels like I've been asleep for forever." He moaned as he walked over to Riley and sat down on the armrest next to her. He leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek, but she held her hand up as her phone rang.

"Hold that thought," she stated as she reached forward and grabbed her phone off of the coffee table in front of her. She quickly answered and put it up to her ear. "Hello? Oh, hey Nic, what's up?" she paused as she listened to what he was saying, resting her chin in her hand. "Well, you know we can't say no to that." She smiled a little and Kendall raised his eyebrows as he watched her. "We can be there in about ten minutes as long as you don't mind we bring some friends. Ok, see you there." She turned off her phone and smiled a little. "Looks like we have to push our day plans to tomorrow," she announced to her siblings. "We have to be on set in ten minutes."

"Got it" Sydney replied with a big smile as everybody got up to get some shoes on and to wake up their friends.

"Who's Nic?" Kendall asked as he followed his girlfriend out of the room. Riley snickered as she rolled her eyes before turning to face him.

"Why? Are you jealous?" she questioned teasingly. Kendall shook his head as he placed his hands in his pockets, rocking on his feet. "Nic is a co-worker," she explained quickly. "It was _going_ to be a surprise, but the six of us have a TV show here in Australia for Disney Channel." She gave a half-smile. "And it's your lucky day because you're going to go to a taping of it today." She turned around and walked to the den where everyone was asleep, Carlos snoring loudly and James talking in his sleep about hair products.

"How were you able to have the show be done while you were going in LA?" Kendall asked as she started to shake her friends awake.

"Everybody else filmed all of their scenes while we were gone, and we're doing some of ours today." She replied and shook Carlos' shoulder, frowning when he didn't wake up.

"Try this," Rhuben smirked as she slowly started to pull Carlos' helmet away from him. As his arms started to slide off of the plastic, he shot awake, eyes wide.

"DON'T TOUCH MY HELMET!" He shouted, causing everyone else to shoot awake at the sound.

"Carlos, don't yell so loud, I'm trying to get my beauty sleep." James groaned as he brushed his hair out of his face.

"Then you're going to need to sleep for a long time," Logan cracked causing his friends to start laughing. "What are you guys waking us up for?" he looked around and slapped his hands over his ears when he heard Gustavo's snoring. "Not that you could get up Gustavo anyway."

"We're taking you somewhere," Rhuben replied as she rested her hands on her hips. "So let's go or we're going to be late." She gave a half smile when she heard their groans again. "You guys are acting like such ankle biters." She rolled her eyes. "Come on, you're not going to be tired once we get out there. So come on."

"I don't think I've ever seen you so excited for something," Stephanie commented as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, what are you trying to hide?" Camille added with a half smile herself.

"You'll see once we get there," Rhuben replied impatiently. "Now come on, I'm not sure how much longer my brothers can wait for you to get your lazy arses up off of the ground."

"I can see that you're in a lovely mood." Jo commented sarcastically.

"Better than I have been in a while," Rhuben replied as her smiled wilted into a frown. Jo sighed as she brushed her hair out of her face, feeling stupid for making a comment like that. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Rhuben turned and left the room.

"Don't worry about it, Jo," James stated as he got up and put an arm around her shoulders. "She knows that you didn't mean it like that." Jo frowned and leaned her head against him. "She'll come around soon, don't worry."

"I hope so." Jo replied.

"LET'S GO!"

"I think we should get going before Patrick blows a gasket." Katie giggled as she grabbed her purse.

* * *

"_I need Julius, Riley, and Rhuben to wardrobe."_

"We'll be back in a few minutes," Riley stated as she started to head off to the designated area, her sister following her. She turned to Julius, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney. "Take them to meet some of the cast and we'll be back soon."

"Sure thing, break a leg." Sydney replied as his sisters and eldest brother rushed off to get dressed for their first scene.

"I'm surprised that we didn't get into a car crash on the way here," James stated to Logan as he looked around at all of the crew walking by carrying stage lights. "We were driving on the wrong side of the road the whole way here."

"James, they drive on the opposite side of the road," Logan explained patiently. "That means that we were on the right side of the road."

"But if we were on the right side of the road and they drive on the opposite side, that means that we were on the left, right?" James questioned.

"What?" Logan asked, confused at what James had just said. "You know what? Never mind." He interrupted as James opened his mouth to speak again. "I'm already getting a headache and I don't need to be any more confused than I already am."

"So, first things first," Patrick declared as he held his arms open, almost hitting his brother in the face. "We're going to take you to meet our friends and cast mates." He gave a big toothy smile. "Follow me." He turned and started to lead everyone towards the set.

"How long have you guys been working on this show?" Katie asked as she walked in between Patrick and Noah. Noah shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at the ground as they continued to walk along.

"For about six years," Noah replied as he looked at the ceiling in thought. "We don't really tell a lot of people about it because we want to keep our lives in the US and our lives in Australia separate." He turned to her and gave a charming smile. "This just means that you guys are special because we brought you on set."

"Well, I'm glad that I'm special to you guys." Katie replied with a smile of her own.

"You have _no_ idea." Patrick muttered under his breath, looking a little annoyed. Katie turned to look at him, wondering what he had just said, and Patrick shook his head, changing the subject as he hurried over a set of fraternal twin boys. "Guys," he turned back around and smiled at his friends. "These are our friends and co-stars Nic and Tristan Strong." He turned to the boys. "Nic, Tristan, these are our friends Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan, Katie, Jo, Camille, and Stephanie."

"It's nice to meet you all." Nic stated as he brushed his straight hair out of his face and got off of the chair that he was sitting on. He gave a flirtatious grin over towards the girls. "How do you like Steak and Kidney so far?" he asked in a thick Australian accent.

"It's really beautiful here." Camille replied with a smile. "It's not hard to figure out why people want to come here so badly."

"So are you here on a vacation?" Tristan asked as he brushed his curly hair off of his forehead.

"Yes and No," Kendall replied slowly, not sure how much they knew about the whole situation. "Mostly we're here for our friends."

"We'll explain it later." Sydney replied quickly when Nic and Tristan looked over at him, eyebrows raised in question. Nic nodded before turning back to Kendall and pointing at him.

"You're Kendall right?" he questioned and Kendall nodded, causing Nic to grin. "Good, I've been meaning to ask you this. You're not the jealous type are you?"

"No, why?" Kendall asked as he scratched his forehead in confusion. Nic looked surprised.

"Riley didn't tell you?" he questioned and continued when Kendall continued to look even more confused. "On the show…our characters are dating. So, I wasn't sure how you would feel if we had to kiss each other."

"Oh," Kendall cleared his throat. "That's fine, it's just acting." He tried to sound convincing, but his voice seemed to crack, showing his insecurity. "Hockey pucks!" he hissed to himself, punching himself in the leg.

"Are you sure you're ok with this dude?" Nic gave a half smile. "I mean, I could talk to her if you wanted me to-"

"No, no, everything's fine!"

'_Yeah right_,' Carlos thought to himself as he rolled his eyes. '_It's totally obvious that Kendall is jealous over the idea of his girlfriend kissing another guy.'_ He shook his head. '_Kendall may be our leader and thinks that he doesn't have to show his emotions all the time, but he's so easy to read it's not even funny_.' He looked over at Stephanie and realized that she was thinking the same thing.

"Sparky! Pro!" Patrick and Noah turned around just in time for a girl about their age, with long brown hair pulled up into pigtails, to run over and crash into them, giving them big hugs. "Wow, it's been forever!" she stated as she pulled back, her green eyes shining with excitement. "How are you?"

"We're doing well." Patrick replied with a nod. "Just came by to work a bit and we brought our friends with us."

"You know us," Noah added with a chuckle. "We can't come back home without having some people needing us to do something." He, Patrick, and Natasha burst out into laughter as Katie stood off to the side, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Guys, this is Nic's and Tristan's little sister Natasha," Patrick introduced. "She's on the show too. Nic and Tristan are part of a band that is rivals to ours and is also Ri-Ri's and Rhu-Rhu's oldest friends/enemies turned love interests. And Natasha is playing their little sister on the show and is a love interest for me and Noah."

'_Love interest_?_' _Katie thought as she raised an eyebrow before stepping forward and holding out a hand. "Hi I'm Katie. I'm Kendall's little sister." She stated as she motioned to him. Natasha took her hand and shook it enthusiastically.

"Hi, I've heard so much about you," she stated and beamed. "Patrick and Noah talk about you all the time in the letter that they write." She giggled as Patrick and Noah blushed and looked away, whistling. Katie couldn't help but laugh too.

"Good things I hope." She replied as she glanced over at the twin boys, who were still turned away.

"Oh definitely good things." Natasha replied.

"Ok, if we're done with that," Sydney jumped into the conversation, noticing that his brothers looked like they wanted the ground to swallow them whole. "I think it's our turn to go to wardrobe." He stated when he noticed Riley, Rhuben, and Julius walking back from the costume department. He grabbed onto his brother's hands. "_Come on_"

"Thanks Syd." Noah muttered as his baby brother led him away.

"Yeah, thanks." Patrick agreed.

"No problem," Sydney replied with a smug smile, his dimples appearing in his cheeks. "I don't get why people really care about who's going out with who, but I know that you were too embarrassed to have Katie figure out what you had said about her."

Kendall smiled as he watched the three of them leave, before grabbing Riley around the waste and kissing her. Riley smiled back as she pulled away, looking over at Nic.

"So, I see that you've met everybody." She stated.

"Yeah, about that," Kendall grabbed her arm and pulled her away a little bit. "Why didn't you tell me that Nic was your boyfriend on the show?"

"Because I didn't think that it was important," Riley replied as she rubbed her neck, noticing the look on his face. "Ok, I admit that it was a bad idea, but I didn't want you to get jealous over nothing."

"I'm not jealous." Kendall repeated.

"Sure."

Back with everyone else, Logan was standing a little bit off of the side as Natasha, Katie, Jo, Camille, and Stephanie talked to each other. And Tristan, Rhuben, Carlos, Julius, and James talked to each other. Tristan noticed that he was standing by himself and excused himself from everybody and moved over to him.

"You're Logan right?" he questioned.

"Yeah," Logan replied with a nod. "And you're…Tristan I think." He added as he wrinkled his nose. "Sorry, I'm not good when it comes to figuring out which twin is who when I first meet them." He replied apologetically.

"That's ok," Tristan smiled warmly. "It takes everyone a while, but I think you know what I wanted to talk about." He looked serious. "Is it going to be a problem if Rhuben and I have to kiss?" he motioned over to Kendall and Riley, who were still talking. "Because it seems like it's bothering him."

"Why should it be a problem?" Logan looked confused. "We broke up a while ago."

"You did?" Tristan looked shocked. "Seriously?" Logan nodded. "That doesn't make any sense, with all the letters that Rhuben has been writing, it didn't seem like you guys _had_ broken up."

"What do you mean?" Logan was now confused.

"I mean, she still talks about you as much as ever," Tristan replied and then looked curious. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you guys break up in the first place?"

"Oh," Logan blushed a little. "My ex-girlfriend came around and I wasn't sure whether or not I still had feelings for her. So she broke up with me so I could figure it out." He let out a sigh. "And I found out that I love her as much as I always had."

"Ooh," Tristan winced. "Yeah, I learned that the hard way too." He chuckled when Logan raised an eyebrow. "We used to date a while back, but now we're just friends." He gave a crooked smile. "And I know that she really cares about you a lot, just give her some time and she'll stop being mad at you."

"Yeah," Logan looked thoughtful before a smile slowly started to spread across his face.

"_I need everyone on set_"

"That's us," Julius stated as he looked at the ceiling before turning to his friends. "So, just go and sit with everyone else and we'll talk to you when the show is over."

The taping of the episode went by smoothly and it showed just how professional the Jacksons could be. They went through the scenes that they had with one or two mistakes here and there, and the music that they incorporated into the show was really upbeat and it showed off their personalities easily. Soon the taping was over and the Jacksons stayed after to take a few pictures and sign a few autographs before they met up with their friends again, who had enjoyed the show. Finally, the Jacksons ushered them out to the cars, stating that there was another place that they wanted to take them.

"Are we getting food?" Carlos asked as his stomach growled loudly.

"No, we'll get that afterwards." Rhuben replied with a chuckle.

"Rhu," Jo hurried and caught up with her friend as they walked across the parking lot. "I hope that…what I said earlier didn't make you too upset." She stated slowly as she studied Rhuben's face. "I know that the reason that you guys came here was so you could finally face your past, and I didn't mean to make you upset."

"It's not your fault," Rhuben replied as she stopped to look at her. "It's a sore subject," she shrugged. "I'm always going to be bent out of shape about it, but I shouldn't have snapped at you for it."

"So we're still friends?" Jo asked to make sure. Rhuben looked genuinely confused.

"When did we stop?" she questioned.

Jo just laughed and shook her head as they all piled into their cars, and Julius in the first car, led them away from the studio lot and through numerous neighborhoods. James had his face pressed against the window during their drive.

'_I wonder where they're talking us_' he thought to himself, keeping quiet. '_It must be something important if they won't tell us what it is' _he leaned back in his seat and thought about everything that they had been through together. All of the good times that made them laugh every time they thought about it, and all of the sad times that they helped each other through. '_It just proves that we're each other's best friends and that we're willing to help each other with anything_._'_

"We're here." Julius stated shortly as he turned off the car and got out.

James looked out the window and saw a structure that _used_ to be a house, but was obviously burnt down. He looked over at Carlos, who looked back at him in confusion, before getting out of the car. The Jacksons strode across the grass and walked into the house, barely looking around, waiting as their friends piled in.

"So, I can tell by your expressions that you're wondering why we're here and what this place is." Patrick stated as he placed his hands on his hips.

"This place is pretty much, where our abuse first started." Noah stated and smiled as Sydney started to cry a little bit and he pulled his brother to his side. "Where our eight…nine years of torture started." He looked over at Riley who took a deep breath before continuing.

"This place is our old home," she explained. "This is where we used to live with our mom and dad, before they died." She looked over at Kendall, who had a look of recognition on his face, remembering when she had told him the story. "This is the house that I accidentally, burnt down, which killed our parents, and caused us to be put into foster care."

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**A/N: Ooh, there's a little bit of jealousy going around. That's never good. And now you can see that Logan is forming a plan to get Rhuben back. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, because I didn't really like it. I'm probably going to go back and re-edit it. With the chapters when they're in Australia it will show what the Jacksons' life is like back at home. I hope you guys are still enjoying it.**

**PS – This story is going to be 30 chapters so it's almost over, and I'm still trying to decide whether or not to put up a sequel to this when they're on tour, or to just start a new series with the Jacksons.**

**If you have any questions, just PM or e-mail me.**

**-Riley**


	20. Big Time Australia Pt2: Starting Over

**.:Chapter Twenty – Big Time Australia Part 2:.**

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**"We decided to bring you guys here so we can talk about our abuse," Julius stated as he looked around at the group of people in front of him and his siblings. Everybody was sitting in the backyard of the house, in a giant circle, Julius at the head. "Well, so they can talk about their abuse." He corrected himself. "It's pretty much step one of the therapy that we have to go through." He added when his friends stared back at him. He turned to his siblings. "Who wants to go first?" he questioned gently.

"I'll go first." Sydney volunteered, messing with his feet. He lifted his head, brushed his bangs out of his face, and looked confident. "The worst beating that I had ever gotten was when I was six." He thought about it for a second. "I don't really remember what happened, but I had left a toy in the middle of the room or something and my dad stepped on it." He swallowed thickly and continued. "He punched and kicked me a few times and grabbed me by the hair and threw me against the wall, causing me to break an arm." He smiled and nodded before turning to look at Patrick.

"My worst case of abuse was actually what happened to Noah and me." He decided to explain as Noah stayed silent, letting his brother speak for him. "We were in trouble for something," he gave a bitter laugh. "I'm guessing that's the only reason that we ever did get hit." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, we were in trouble for something, and our dad made us sit down at the table and held our hand down, took a cigarette and burnt the back of our hands." He gave a small smile. "It took a while for the scars to go away with some medication, but it's finally gone."

"I'll go next, and I'll just make it short," Riley stated, digging a small hole with her finger in the grass. "I talked back to my dad and he beat me so bad I was unconscious for two days. And that caused me to have a bad left leg and a bad right wrist from time to time." She reached out and ruffled Noah's hair, causing him to smile at the touch. "But it was nothing as long as I could protect these guys."

"And for me," Rhuben sighed as he thought about it. "It would have to be the time where he tried to drown me in the bathtub." She cupped her chin in her hands. "He did it a lot, but the one specific time, he seemed to actually want to drown me…and he was close to having it be done too."

"The thing that we realized is the best way to get over what had happened to all of us is by having the support system that we have now." Julius stated after a second of silence as he watched his friends. The guys were looking at the ground and the girls were openly crying. "You guys have done a lot for my brothers and sisters and I don't know how I can thank you for it."

"It's no problem." Kendall replied with a warm smile as he looked at the eldest Jackson. "They're our friends and if we didn't do it for them who would we do it for?"

"That's good to know." Julius laughed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He turned to his siblings. "So, how do you guys feel?"

"I feel good actually," Sydney replied, looking surprised. "Better than good. I feel great." He smiled an impish grin. "Like I've finally got the world lifted off of my chest." With that he got to his feet and did a simple cartwheel across the ground before looking at his watch. "It's only four o'clock." He turned and winked at his brothers and sisters. "What do you say to treating these guys to a real look at Sydney?" he giggled at the joke.

"Not me," Julius replied as he tickled his baby brother's ribs. "I'm going to meet up with Brittany."

"Ooh," Riley and Rhuben stated in unison as they smiled at him teasingly.

"Shut up!" Julius snapped back as he aimed a swipe at their heads, but they ducked out of the way, laughing. "I think what would be best is if we saved the look at Sydney," he smiled as Sydney started giggling again. "For tomorrow, so we can make sure that everyone gets back to our house and to the hotel."

"Then drop us off and have fun." Rhuben commanded.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am." Julius replied as he saluted before leading everybody back to the cars

Big Time Rush, Jo, Camille, Katie, and Stephanie are smiled as they watched the Jacksons as they talked excitedly as they went back to the cars. They could already tell that their showing them their old home and talking about their abuse had taken a big wait off of them and caused them to immediately be happier. It just showed that they knew that the rest of their stay here was going to be a lot of fun.

The drive home was much happier and wasn't as silent as the drive up to the house. The radios were turned on and whatever was on, everyone was screaming and shouting the songs at the top of their lungs as they went. Patrick and Noah even went as far as to roll down the windows of the car and wave to whomever they passed. Some people recognized them, but others, in true Australian nature, they waved back anyway. As soon as they pulled up at the house, everybody got out and rushed down to the basement as Julius stopped inside to tell Ronan where he was going before leaving again.

"Umm, why is it that your guys' house here looks like the house back in LA?" Camille asked as she looked around the basement.

"Oh we did that on purpose," Sydney explained as he propelled his bubble chair around in a circle with his feet. "Because we liked the design so much that we asked it to be built somewhat the same way." He stopped spinning and his eyes rolled around. "Yes, we are weird people." He added, causing everyone to laugh.

"But seriously, we're glad that you guys could come with us," Rhuben stated as she hit a solid colored ball into the corner pocket of the pool table and hip-bumped Riley in celebration.

"Nice shot." Logan commented where he was scanning the table, looking for a place to take his next shot if Riley missed her turn.

"Thank you." She replied. Jo, Camille, and Stephanie looked at each other with small smiles on their faces, silently agreeing that they would ask her about it later. Rhuben noticed the look and gave a mysterious smile back, before Riley went and took her shot.

"Trust me on this, Hockey Head, you two are going to lose," Riley stated as she scanned the table. "We play pool the time, you can't win."

"We'll just see about that, Ruby." Kendall replied as he raised his eyebrows, studying the table himself.

"You guys have got to stop being so competitive, it's just a stupid game." James pointed out from where he was sitting on the ground, waiting for his turn to play. Patrick, Noah, and Katie were sitting on the couch, watching something on Nickelodeon. Sydney glanced at what was on the TV and then looked for the remote, smiling evilly when he saw it in Patrick's hand.

He leapt off of the bubble chair and jumped onto the couch, grabbing onto the back of Patrick's hair and tugging it. Patrick let out a loud screech of pain, causing Noah and Katie to jump and back away when they saw the smaller boy on his brother's back.

"Give! Me! The! Remote!" Sydney yelled next to his ear. Each exclamation point is accompanied by a sharp tug of Patrick's hair, causing white-hot pain to sting against his scalp.

"No!" Patrick yelled back, trying to pry his baby brother's hands away from his hair, "Midget," he added, using one of Sydney's many nicknames. "Leave me alone! We were watching first!" Riley and Rhuben watched the fight with amusement.

"You're not going to try and stop them?" Carlos asked as he scratched his head. "It looks kind of vicious."

"Just be glad you're not on the receiving end of it," Rhuben replied with a slight shake of her head. "You think that Sydney has the biggest mouth, but Patrick has the biggest lungs. Making it that they can yell almost as loud as you can get."

Sydney pulled Patrick's hair again, causing the older boy to scream something about his hair as he tried to wrestle his body from underneath Sydney, where he was pinned with surprising strength. Patrick was fed up at this point. If he wants hostile, he can have hostile.

Sydney placed my hand over Patrick's face, effectively blocking his vision and moving him backwards. If he tries to escape, his nose will meet an untimely end.

It's a dirty trick, but there are casualties in war.

Sydney quickly jumped away to the other end of the couch, remote still safely in his grip as he had grabbed it when Patrick was squealing about his hair.

"Should we help?" Katie asked from where she and Noah were kneeling behind the couch, holding pillow just in case the two boys got too close.

"Nah," Noah replied as he put down the pillow. "This happens all the time, it's like war. You can't help any side; you have to wait to see who wins." He paused and then a smile tugged at his lips. "Or just wait until they both let go of the remote and grab it for yourself." His smile grew bigger as Katie giggled next to him.

Sydney, who has the remote and everyone's attention, points the remote at the screen, preparing to turn change the channel. His finger comes down upon the button and he senses, rather than sees, a movement to his left. Time slows down, his finger hovering above the 'channel up' button, and suddenly he was hit with a mass equal to that of an entire football team carrying several rather overweight elephants.

Heavy.

Or, really, the weight of his brother, as he projectile launched himself off the opposite armrest. When the two boys collided, James, Kendall, Logan, and Carlos winced, seeing more brutal hits in hockey. But it was still bad.

The remote is abruptly gone from Sydney's hands, and Patrick tumbles to the floor, grinning and unharmed. He looked up and saw that he had the remote in his hands. Sydney stands up off the couch, advancing towards him. Patrick must notice the menacing glint in Sydney's eye, because his poor fourteen-year-old self starts to slowly back away.

"This is better than FOX" Katie declared, her eyes wide.

"We get that a lot." Noah stated as he nodded rapidly. Katie smiled over at him and blushed when she noticed how close they were. They were so close that she could see the freckles that lightly smattered his cheeks and she could smell him. Even though he didn't wear cologne or axe or anything, he seemed to smell like brown sugar. He turned his head to say something and blushed when he noticed how close their faces were.

Katie quickly backed away and went back to watching his brothers.

"Now, Syd," Patrick said pleadingly, "Don't do anything that you know you're going to regret later." He has his hands held up defensively, the remote loosely held between two fingers.

Sydney takes that moment to charge, throwing himself forward. Patrick darts out of the way, avoiding Sydney's onslaught, leaving him stumbling for footing. I turn around, and see that Patrick has sat down, quite comfortably, on the couch.

Sydney stamps his foot, looking at him angrily.

Patrick smiles, with what he probably thinks is an innocent expression, and kept the channel at what it was. Sydney steeled himself and leapt, straight from the ground, across the room, aiming for cushy suede softness of the sofa. Patrick glanced up, and his eyes widen for a second in horror. He barely has time to open his mouth and scream before Sydney is on top of him, grabbing the remote. Patrick quickly recovered and pulled the remote. Sydney could feel his fingers loosening, and though he vainly tried to hold onto the remote, he can feel it slipping from his grip. Patrick jerks the remote upwards suddenly, and the control flies away from them, spinning through the air before clattering onto the ground.

There is silence, and then Patrick and Sydney struggle at once to reach the remote first, while still holding the other in place. They struggle, but neither of them can gain the upper hand in this mess.

They are equally matched enemies.

Noah sees the remote on the floor, picks it up, and turns on the Disney channel. Grinning, he turned and gave Katie a high-five. Patrick looked over at them and didn't say anything, but he had a thoughtful expression on his face. Sydney looked at his brother, and Patrick looked back at him. Their eyes meet, and instantly they have a connection. Their previous battles are forgotten, a truce is called, and they are united against a new enemy.

A much more formidable enemy.

"Hey!" they whine in unison. Sometimes even opposing armies must band together when in the presence of a greater evil.

After all, anything goes in war.

"Heyy is for horses" Rhuben shot back and made a face at Big Time Rush as they started clapping and cheering. "Don't encourage them." She stated as she shook her head. "It can get much worse than that. You should have seen it the last time Riley and Patrick were arguing over the phone."

"Interesting," Stephanie commented as she turned off her video camera, after getting the fight on video. She turned to the twin girls. "What happened?"

"Bloody nose." Riley replied as if it was nothing.

"_You_ gave Patrick a bloody nose?" Logan looked taken aback.

"No, _he_ gave _me_ a bloody nose," Riley replied as she rolled her eyes. "Patrick's head is bigger and harder than you would think." She added loudly. Patrick popped his up over the couch and grinned back at her. "Don't give me that innocent look."

"What's going on down there?" Ronan shouted from the top of the staircase. Riley rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath before turning back around and facing the stairs.

"Just the regular fight over the remote!" she shouted back. "Nothing to worry about!" she made a face and turned back to the game that she was playing, eyeing the table. "Whose turn is it?"

"I'm not sure," Logan replied as he scratched the back of his neck. "But, Landy, I was hoping that you could drive me somewhere really fast." He thought quickly as Riley and Rhuben looked over at him with raised eyebrows. "I need to get some postcards to send letter back to my mom and dad and I need your help to decide which ones to use." Riley raised an eyebrow and Logan looked back at her with wide eyes. Finally, Riley caught on and nodded.

"Oh right," she tossed her pool cue over to Jo who moved to take her place. "You asked me about that earlier, sorry, I forgot, let's go now." She still looked a little confused as she turned and disappeared up the stairs along with Logan.

"So, did that seem really fake to anyone else besides me?" James asked after a second, as if he was waiting for them to leave the room before saying anything.

"No, it wasn't just you." Carlos replied. "I mean, who would waste their entire time buying postcard when you can just buy a bunch of candy." James slapped his forehead and shook his head. Stephanie smiled and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, causing him to beam.

"I think I lost him on this one." James sighed as he turned to look at Kendall.

"James, buddy," he slapped his friend on the arm. "I don't think we even really had him."

"Hey," Camille spoke up. "Just because Carlos is the sweetest guy out of all of you," she paused. "No pun intended," she added as an afterthought before continuing. "That doesn't mean that you can go and make fun of him all the time."

"That's right," Rhuben agreed with a nod. "I mean, Patrick can be stupid sometimes but that doesn't mean that we make fun of him all the time."

"Thanks," Patrick stated sarcastically as he stared at the TV screen. "That helps a lot." Beside him, Noah snickered, causing Patrick to give a half smile as he jabbed his elbow into his brother's side. He laughed back at him.

"You know we don't really think that you're stupid, right?" Noah asked as he turned and flicked his twin's nose.

"We don't?" Sydney asked innocently as he messed with the remote in his hands. "Huh, that's news to me." He let out a cry as Patrick reached out a hand and shoved Sydney off of the couch.

"Have I forgotten to mention that we also can be a _little_ violent?" Rhuben asked as she watched the exchange. "But in a _funny_ way."

"It doesn't need to be mentioned," Kendall laughed as he took a shot at a random ball. "We can tell just by watching." He looked up as Logan and Riley ran back into the basement, Logan holding a bag in his hand. He looked at his girlfriend, confused. "I thought you were going to the store."

"And you actually believed that?" she snorted and moved her arm around Kendall's waist, leaning into him as she shook his head. "If a stupid lie like that comes out of Logan, then you know that he's up to something." She turned to Rhuben. "And if you don't like it, don't blame me," she jerked her chin in Logan's direction. "It was all his idea."

"Then why go along with it?" Jo asked with a laugh.

"He's my best friend," Riley replied as if it was scathingly obvious. "Why wouldn't I help him with something?"

"What is it?" Rhuben asked with a sigh as she turned to face the nervous boy. She raised an eyebrow when he stayed silent; looking around the room, as if deciding that it was a good idea after all. "You might as well speak up now while you have my undivided attention."

"Along with everyone else's" Camille added, and blinked when everyone else shushed her.

"Ok, well, you know how you said that instead of me always saying that I love you and that I should show you?" Logan asked and his face slowly started to flame as everyone continued to stare. Rhuben silently nodded as she leaned against the pool table, wondering what he was getting at. 'Well, I didn't want to do this in front of everyone, but Riley made me." Rhuben glanced over at her twin, who whistled innocently as she looked at her fingernails, before looking back at Logan.

Logan reached into his back pocket and slowly pulled out a photograph and held it out so Rhuben could see it. Eyeing him warily, she plucked the photo from his hand and looked at it. She did a double take and her eyes widened as her cheeks started to redden.

"Where'd you get this?" she questioned as Jo and Stephanie leaned over her shoulder to try and see it. Rhuben moved the photo out of their reach and stuck out their tongue, before James dove over the pool table and grabbed it.

He burst out laughing when he saw it and everyone else except for Riley, who had seen it before, crowded around to see it too. They too, burst out into hysterical laughter, causing the two's faces to redden even more. The picture was one of Logan and Rhuben from when they were still in Texas (evident from the fact that there were horses in the background) and a small Logan and Rhuben were hugging each other and Logan was kissing her cheek.

"I knew that Riley had it." Logan stated as he motioned to the girl before taking a step forward. "I would say that it is evident in this picture that I loved you back then almost as much as I do now." He explained. "_But_ you said that I had to show you, and that's only my part of showing you." He kneeled down to the bag and pulled out a small megaphone.

"Julius' closet?" Rhuben questioned as she looked over at Riley, who nodded in reply. Rhuben turned back to Logan and her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing?"

"Watch." He replied before turning and hurrying back up the stairs. There was only a slight pause before everyone chased after him. By the time Sydney, who was the last one up the stairs, got to where everyone else was, Logan was t the door, which he had flung open, and put the microphone to his mouth.

"_Excuse me_?" he called through the megaphone. "_I'd like all of you to know that I am in love with the lovely girl that you all know as Rhuben Jackson, but whom I like to call Bella. I have loved her since_-"

"Shut up!" Rhuben snapped as she slapped her hand over the front of the megaphone and moved it away from Logan's mouth. "Just shut up."

"I love you so much," Logan said in a whisper. His face looked as if he was in some sort of agony, "I love you so much its sometimes overwhelming, I don't ever want to leave you." his eyes were full of an undying affection. "Or hurt you ever again."

"Then don't," Rhuben said it simply.

"Come again?" Rhuben stated, blinking rapidly.

Rhuben scratched her forehead, trying to hide the blush that seemed to be stuck on her cheeks. "Don't…please don't hurt me again." She replied, rubbing her arm. "I've already had to deal with it physically; I don't need it from someone that I trust with everything."

"Does that mean…"

"Yes," Rhuben rolled her eyes. "Logie," she rolled her eyes. "If it will make you feel better for you to hear me say it out loud. "I'll take you back."

"Oh good," Logan smiled as he tossed the megaphone aside. "Because I was going to start singing to the neighborhood if you didn't agree to." Rhuben smiled back before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Logan's neck in a hug. He kissed her cheek as he hugged her tightly.

Sydney smiled as he led their friends in a round of applause, as if Logan and Rhuben had announced that they were getting married. "So," he moved over to Logan and Rhuben and pushed them apart before latching himself onto Logan's waist. "When's he joining the family? Because I always wanted an older sibling that was actually smart."

"Hey!"

"Heyy is for horses." Camille smirked.

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**A/N: So, just so you guys know, Rhu and I just moved into college, which is why it took a bit for this chapter to be put up. So our chapters will most likely be put up in the afternoon/towards the end of the day. Starting with this chapter, the rest of the chapters in this story are going to be happy ones, as the Jacksons have finally talked about what had gone down in their past. What would you like to see? Thanks for reading.**

**PS- Ever want to ask us questions, we have a formspring and if you want to know our names on it, we'll send it to you in a pm, and be glad to answer your questions. :)**

**-Riley**


	21. Big Time Australia Pt3: Unexpected

**A/N: This chapter has to do with PatrickxKatiexNoah and I think that you're going to be pleasantly surprised at the end.**

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****.:Chapter Twenty One – Big Time Australia Part 3:.**

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**"Good morning." Ronan greeted as he walked into the kitchen the next morning, and patted the top of Riley's head. She turned away from the stove and gave a bright smile in return.

"Hey Ronan," she replied and went back to frying something on a pan. "How'd you sleep? Us girls didn't keep you up did we?" Ronan let out a sarcastic laugh as he moved over and sat down in a chair, grabbing the newspaper from the kitchen table.

"When do you _not_ keep me up." He asked in the same sarcastic tone. "What with the 'oh my gods' and the 'no ways' and the high pitched giggles ringing from your room, who could sleep." He gave a half smile. "Besides, Patrick's snoring kept me up, have you ever thought about giving him a nose guard?"

"You're his dad, you should buy it." Riley replied as she dumped some eggs on a plate and turned to place it on the table.

"Ay," Ronan stated in an offended tone as he moved the newspaper aside.

"See," Riley smiled. "You're starting to pick up on our Aussie slang already."

"That's because I've been around you too long." Ronan replied with a bemused smile. Riley rolled her eyes but didn't say anything as she started to set up a few more plates of food. By the time that she was done, Rhuben, Jo, Katie, Mrs. Knight, Stephanie, and Camille were sitting at the table, talking a bit.

"Here you go." Riley set the plates down at the table and grabbed a few more chairs for her brothers before sitting down with them. She turned to her sister. "The boys still asleep?"

"That would be impossible," Rhuben replied as she grabbed a fork and twirled it around her finger before stabbing into her eggs. "As Patrick snores like a dump truck," she laughed a little. "But if it's quiet now, that means that Noah and Sydney probably smothered him."

"And you're not worried?" Jo asked with a little laugh.

"With them, not at all." Riley laughed.

"So, how did you girls sleep last night?" Ronan asked to make conversation. He turned to Mrs. Knight. "I hope that the mattress in the guest room that you were in wasn't too lumpy." He glanced over at Riley and Rhuben, who were shoveling food into their mouths. "Their dad hasn't really changed much since the last time that they've been here."

"No, it was fine." Mrs. Knight replied with a smile as she took a sip of the coffee that was in her mug. "It was much better than the beds back at the Palm Woods."

"I can imagine." Ronan replied with a little laugh.

"Is it just me or are Kendall's mom and your dad getting really chummy with each other?" Camille muttered as the girls leaned away from the adults at the table. She grinned at the girls. "Wouldn't that be cool?"

"Not for Riley," Stephanie laughed as she tho0ught about the situation. "If those two got together, then Riley and Kendall couldn't date anymore."

"No, they _could_," Rhuben pointed out. "It would just be _very_ frowned upon." She smiled as her sister glared back at her. "But seriously, I've always thought that Ronan should be dating, because he hasn't had a girlfriend for a while." She took a sip of hot chocolate.

"Why not?" Katie actually looked a little sad. "He's good looking enough and he's not that old." She commented as she glanced over at him. "I figured that you would have to be chasing all of the people that want to date him away."

"Yeah, that's what you'd think." Riley replied as she stabbed at her plate to get some food on her fork. Stephanie laughed when it slid back off and she had to start stabbing it all over again. At the head of the table, Ronan looked at his watch.

"Rhuben, would you go to tell your brothers that it's breakfast time?" he asked.

"Sure," Rhuben nodded and swallowed her mouthful of food before leaning back in her seat and turning her head towards the entrance to the kitchen. "PAT, NO, SYD, JULI, ITS BREAKFAST TIME!" She shouted so loud that Ronan, Mrs. Knight, and Katie jumped in their seats.

"I could have done that." Ronan stated as he looked over at her, blinking slowly.

"Then why didn't you?" Rhuben replied with a sweet smile, causing Riley to smile and laugh at the annoyed look on Ronan's face. She turned to her friends. "So, I'm thinking that-"

"Sorry we took so long," Patrick apologized as he, Noah, and Sydney walked into the kitchen, rubbing their faces. "Noah here," he jerked his thumb in his brother's direction. "Was taking forever in the bathroom."

"You spend _hours_ in the bathroom," Noah replied as he pulled his chair out, turned it around, and sat down in the seat, reaching for his plate. "It should only be fair that I get at least twenty minutes to actually take a shower." He took a bite of food and smiled as he turned to his eldest sister. "Good brekkie, Ri-Ri."

"Thank you." Riley replied with a smile of her own.

"Wait a minute," Rhuben looked slightly annoyed. "How do you know that I didn't make breakfast?"

"Because it's edible," Sydney replied through a mouthful of food, a blank expression was on his face as if it was obvious. Rhuben's frown deepened. "Oh come on, we know that you're not a bad cook, but you're not a good one either."

"And don't frown," Patrick added as he pointed at her with a fork. "You'll get wrinkles." He advised as he raised his eyebrows with a lopsided smile. "You don't want to get wrinkles prematurely do you?"

"Don't you think you're taking a little too much stock into people's appearances?" Noah asked as he turned to his twin brother and raised an eyebrow. "I mean, heaven forbid when you get a pimple," he trailed off as he peered at his brother's face and randomly jabbed at his chin. "Like right there."

Patrick's hand flew up to his chin and his eyes widened as he felt around for it. He let out a screech and jumped up from the chair before running out of the room. Sydney laughed and gave Noah, who was grinning, a high-five. Ronan watched one of his sons leave and then turned back to Noah, shaking his head.

"Did you have to do that?" he questioned.

"Yes," Noah replied innocently. "It's funny." He turned to Katie and looked like he reme3mbered something. "By the way, Natasha invited you, me, and Patrick to hang out today. I said 'yes' if that's ok."

"Sounds like a date to me," Camille pointed out with a sly smile, causing Katie to blush, although Noah acted like he didn't hear her. "Or, to be more specific, a double date."

"Aw, that's sweet Noah, your first date." Riley teased.

"Shut up." Noah replied lamely before turning to Katie. "So, do you want to go?"

"Yeah, it sounds fun." Katie replied with a slow nod as if she was thinking about something. '_Is__ this a double date? If so, then who is my date? And who would be Natasha's? I wouldn't like it either way, because I don't know how I would feel when it came to one of them dating someone else."_

"Katie?" Sydney's high-pitched voice broke through Katie's thoughts. "Are you ok?" Katie blinked and looked around to see that everyone was still eating, but occasionally looking at her out of the corner of their eyes.

"Yeah," She forced a smile. "I'm perfectly fine."

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"Where did Natasha say for us to meet her?" Patrick asked as he sidestepped a couple that were walking down the street. He looked at his watch and then stood up on his tiptoes and looked around. "You know here, she's bad when it comes to remembering things."

"Then how does she remember lines for your guys' show?" Katie asked with a half smile as she wiped her hands off on her pants legs. "I mean, that's kind of a big part for it, isn't it?"

"You'd think," Noah replied as he rested his hands on a brick wall before jumping backwards, pulling himself up. He brushed is hair out of his face with his shoulder. "But we don't call it 'memorizing lines' we make a game or a contest out of it. So it's easier for us to remember." He gave a smile and nudged his brother. "Now when it comes to dance moves, that's harder."

Katie chuckled as she brushed her hair out of her face. "I can imagine," she shook her head. "Sometimes, I go to watch Kendall and them-"

"Hey there!" Natasha popped up from behind the brick wall, causing Noah to jump and almost fall off himself. "Jeez, Noah's Ark, you've always been so jumpy." Natasha teased as Noah got his balance back, gripping tightly onto the brick wall.

"Haha," Noah rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't be laughing when your character mysteriously disappears off the show," Noah threatened and raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah, I can make that happen."

"Sure you can," Natasha rolled her eyes and then turned to Katie, smiling brightly. "Hey Katie, glad you could make it."

"Thanks for inviting me," Katie replied with a smile in return. Even though she was a little suspicious of Natasha's friendship with Patrick and Noah, she couldn't help but smile. Natasha's smile and friendly disposition was just so infectious. "Really, I can only take so much of being around my brother and his stupid friends."

"I know the feeling," Natasha stated sympathetically as she patted Katie's shoulder. "Nic and Tristan are always doing stupid things onset. Like this one time they-"

"I'm sure that no one wants to hear that story." Patrick jumped in, slapping a hand over Natasha's mouth. "Let's get going." He slowly pulled his hand away, looking wary, before turning up and down the street. "Let's walk on the beach and the boardwalk for a while, and then we can show Katie the Sydney Harbor and the Sydney opera house."

"Sounds good." Natasha smiled and pushed the air. "Let's go!"

"A little hyper there?" Noah questioned, tilting his head to the side. Natasha smiled and nodded before leading the way down the street.

Natasha turned around and grinned. "Just a little." She replied with a wink as she held her thumb and index finger a few inches apart. Noah smiled and shook his head before lighting whacking her on the back of the head, following her down the sidewalk.

Katie's eyebrows furrowed together as she hoisted her bag over her shoulder before following them down the sidewalk. She forgot what she was anxious about as she started to enjoy herself. Natasha led them along the beach, pointing out people that she knew and even waving to people that she didn't know. Every now and then as they walked along the beach she, Patrick, and Noah got stopped to take pictures and to sign autographs.

Katie stood back and watched as that happened, a soft smile tugging at her lips. The three of them really seemed to be enjoying it, but it seemed to her that Patrick was having the most fun. He joked around with the fans as if he had known them for years and they had just run into each other again. Katie's smile grew wider as she watched the twin boys. She loved the way that they smiled and she also loved the way that their eyes sparkled when they did smile.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Natasha's voice rang in her ears and Katie blushed as she quickly backed away. She burst out laughing and motioned to the two boys as Katie's steadily turned red. "You like them don't you?" she didn't give Katie the chance to answer. "Don't worry about it; even I had a crush on them at one point." She smiled evilly. "Which one do you like better?"

"I don't know," Katie admitted with a sigh, finally able to tell someone what was going on. "I like them both, and have no idea how to decide if I ever have to."

Natasha shrugged. "Just choose the one that you have the most fun with."

"Right," Katie nodded as if she was going to take her advice, but still didn't know what to do. "Anyway, is there anything to eat around here? I'm getting hungry."

"Yeah," Patrick waved to a little girl, whom he had just given his autograph to and then turned around, rubbing his chin. "There's a hotdog place on the boardwalk, but then again the pizza is better, maybe we-"Noah slapped a hand over Patrick's mouth, causing Natasha and Katie to giggle.

"We'll just go to the boardwalk and figure it out from there." He stated. Patrick smile and stuck out his tongue, licking the palm of his brother's hand. "Ugh" Noah made a face and pulled his hand away, quickly wiping it into Patrick's shoulder.

"Gets him every time." Patrick smiled and nodded, as if he was proud of himself. "Come on." He gently shoved Noah's shoulder and ran away as Noah fell over, rolled back to his feet, and chased after his brother, shouting the whole way.

"If you're going to make a choice, I'd make one soon." Natasha muttered into Katie's ear and ran after the two boys. "Guys! Wait up!"

"Tell me about it." Katie muttered under her breath, running after them.

She finally caught up with the three of them when Noah shoved Patrick face first into the ground and laughed at his expense before grabbing his brother's hand and pulling him to his feet. The thing with Patrick and Noah is that even when they got mad at each other, eventually they would forget about whatever they were arguing about and become best friends again. It was something that they both liked about their relationship with each other and didn't want that to ever change. It was one of the things that helped them when they were still being abused by their dad.

The four of them got something to eat and sat down at an empty table and talked leisurely, joking and laughing with each other. Noah smiled as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the back of the chair, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his face. He missed being back home and already knew how different he felt rather than back in LA. Although now he could consider that both LA and Australia was his home.

He opened his eyes and looked over at Katie, frowning when he saw her sigh wistfully, glancing over at Natasha and Patrick, who were talking quietly. He looked thoughtful for a second before clearing his throat and looking over at Patrick.

"Hey, I'm running a little low on money, do you mind getting me some ice cream from that stand?" he pointed down the boardwalk. "Wayyyyy down there?" he smiled sweetly. "I'll pay you back later."

"Why not?" Patrick sighed as he pushed back his chair. "I was getting a jones for something sweet." He turned to Natasha. "Help me carry em'?"

"Sure thing." Natasha replied as she got up and the two walked away. Katie smiled nervously at Noah, who didn't beat around the bush.

"Do you like him or do you like me?" he questioned. Katie blinked and her eyes widened, not sure if she knew what he had just said. He waited patiently, his fingers laced and his hands resting on his chest.

"What?" she finally asked.

Noah rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath before he looked back at her. "Don't act stupid, because it's not doing you any favors." He set his lips in a line.

Katie glared at him. "You _are_ aware that I can beat you up, right?" she asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Trust me, I'm aware." Noah replied and shook his head. "Of course you'd try to change the subject. Hoping I'd forget." He gave a wry smile. "But just to give you the benefit of the doubt, I'll just simply as the question again."

"You know you're acting like a jerk?" Katie snapped.

Noah chose to ignore her and pressed forward with the question. "Do you like Patrick or me better?"

"I…I, uh." Katie stammered, trying to get the words to come out. Noah watched her for a few seconds before scratching his forehead, standing up.

"Never mind, "he replied as he brushed off the back of his pants and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I get it." He turned and started to walk away, lightly kicking at the sidewalk. "Tell Patrick that I went home." He stated over his shoulder, not turning around.

"Noah," Katie called after him as she clambered out of her chair. Noah didn't turn around, he just kept walking. "Noah, wait." She caught up to him and grabbed onto his arm, turning him around. He let out a breath through his nose and looked down at her. She flushed again. "I…uh, you…I…" she sighed heavily. "Wow, this is harder than I thought." She took a deep breath. "I…"

Noah chuckled as he rubbed his nose, looking amused. "Katie," he placed a hand on her cheek. "I think I know what you're trying to say."

With a small laugh, and a smile, he stepped forward and kissed her…

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this is such a short chapter and that it took so long to get put up. I'm going through orientation at college and I only got enough time to type it up now. Thanks for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed it either way.**

**-Riley**


	22. Big Time Australia Pt4: The ARIA Awards

**A/N: Just in case anyone is confused, each chapter when they're in Australia is a different day. Like, since this is part 4, its day 4 in Australia for them. I hope that cleared things up. This chapter has small moments of Kiley, Lella, Jameo, Carphanie, and Natie.**

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* * *

****.:Chapter Twenty Two – Big Time Australia Part 4:.**

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* * *

**"So just make yourself comfortable and I just need to check my phone messages and then we can get out of here." Ronan stated as he led Gustavo, Kelly, and Mrs. Knight into the living room. He looked embarrassed when he saw the shoes all on the ground. "Sorry about the mess." He added with a chuckle. "It's a little hard to get them to do something sometimes."

"Just give them time."Kelly smiled as she sat down on the couch, pulling her legs up underneath her. "I'm sure that you're doing a great job."

"He is," Mrs. Knight affirmed with a nod, placing her purse on the table in front of her. "I've seen the way that they've been acting the past couple of days and they couldn't be happier."

"Besides," Gustavo spoke up. "If they get out of line you could just use the Gustavo method." He grinned as Mrs. Knight and Kelly rolled their eyes.

"Right, because what I need is for them to be deafened." Ronan replied as he rolled his eyes and pushed the messages button on the answering machine. He leaned against the wall opposite of the answering machine and waited as the messages rolled through.

"_You have two unheard messages. First message; Hey, its Rodney Jenkins from Royals Botanic Gardens and I wanted to get back at you on the idea of your kids having a small concert before you go back to the United States. It's a go as of now; I'll get you more details later_." Ronan smiled at the message as it moved onto the next one. He was excited for the concert and knew that it was going to be one of the best ones that the Jacksons have ever done. "_Hey, this is Alan McIntyre from Blazing Phoenix Record. I know it took a while but we finally got the results of your record sales from Broken Walls. Are you ready for this? The CD went platinum. Congratulations, man."_

"Congratulations Ronan, that's awesome!" Kelly grinned. "You must be so proud." She turned toward Gustavo and elbowed him in the stomach. Gustavo glared at her and Kelly glared back before he sighed heavily and clapped slowly.

"I'm so happy for you." He stated through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, that was _so_ convincing." Ronan replied as he raised an eyebrow before his annoyance melted away into a smile. "They're going to be so jazzed when they hear this ace news!" he declared as he turned to face his friends.

"This is really a good opportunity for them," Kelly ignored Gustavo. "With all of the CD sales that they have been getting, not counting the ones on iTunes, they could get nominated for an ARIA Award." She added, causing Ronan's grin to get bigger as Gustavo's frown deepened.

"What's an ARIA Award?" Mrs. Knight asked as she wrinkled her nose. "Is that like the academy awards or something?"

"Really close," Ronan replied. "The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards also known as the ARIA Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Record Industry Association, or ARIA."

"And if you get nominated, or even _win_ an ARIA award you get _a lot_ of media attention, and usually increases record sales SEVEN-FOLD!" Gustavo continued to sulk through gritted teeth. Mrs. Knight, Ronan, and Kelly looked at each other, not sure what to say. "You know what?" Gustavo looked like he had a light bulb over his head. "This might actually be a good thing, because if your band _does_ get nominated or even _wins _an ARIA Award, it would increase the popularity of the _dogs _here in Australia!" he turned and grabbed Ronan's shoulders, shaking him. "You band _has_ to get an ARIA nomination."

"I'm not going to know whether or not it happens until they call the house to tell me that they're nominated or something." Ronan replied and then saw the look on Gustavo's face and winced as Gustavo started to tighten his grip on Ronan's shoulders. "Don't hurt me."

"Gustavo, release, re-lease" Kelly started to rub Gustavo's arms, waiting for Gustavo to listen to her.

"You don't want to have to be sent to jail or something," Mrs. Knight added worriedly as she tried to pull Gustavo's hand off of Rona's shoulder. "Because with all of the screaming that you do, I'm surprised that you haven't been written up for disturbing the peace."

"He has." Kelly replied and the two woman finally pulled Gustavo's hands off of his shoulders.

"Thank You!" Ronan gasped as he rubbed his shoulders, eyeing Gustavo warily. "I don't like that look that you've got in your eye, buddy. What's going through your head?"

"Nothing." Gustavo replied as he rubbed his hands together, nothing at all.

"That's what I was afraid of." Kelly replied with a sigh as she rolled her eyes. "Every time there's _nothing_ going on in your head, it's actually _something_ and it usually ends up backfiring and bringing me in with it."

"You mean like the time that he had smashed Matthew McConaughey's mailbox?" Mrs. Knight asked and Kelly nodded as she glared over at Gustavo, who whistled and looked away. "Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem."

"Anyway," Ronan turned to Gustavo and fished his cell phone out of his pocket. "It's not like as soon as I pull out my cell phone it's going to ring and be someone from ARIA explaining that my kids have been nominated for an award." As soon as he finished his cell phone started to ring. Slightly scared, he looked at the caller ID and then looked back up at Gustavo, Kelly, and Mrs. Knight. "Did that _really_ just happen?"

* * *

"What's Vegemite?" Carlos asked as he turned the jar of the goo that was in his hands. "Is it good?" he unscrewed the cap and sniffed it. "It smells like peanuts." He stuck his finger in the jar and started to take some out, but Riley rushed to his side and knocked the jar out of his hands. "Hey!"

"Trust me, mate," she stated as she picked the jar up off of the floor. "You don't want to eat that." She placed it back on the shelf and steered him away from it. "To people who haven't eaten it before, it tastes disgusting."

"Well," Carlos pouted. "You didn't have to hit my hand so hard." He stuck out his lower lip as he rubbed his hand, walking out of the small store and over to his girlfriend. "Riley gave me a boo-boo, will you kiss it better?" Stephanie grinned and raised Carlo's hands to her lips and kissed the back of his hand, holding it in hers. "All better." He smiled and stepped forward, giving her a kiss.

"If this goes on _every time_ we stop at a store, we're not going to be able to get far." Julius pointed out patiently from where he was standing on the sidewalk, looking at his phone.

Because they weren't able to go see the Sydney Harbor or the Sydney Opera house the day before, Patrick offered him and his brothers and sisters to take their friends on a trip around Sydney. Natasha decided to tag along, as she had started to become good friends with Katie.

"Still looking at rings?" Rhuben questioned as she snatched her brother's phone from his hand. She smiled teasingly when she saw a text from his girlfriend. "Aww, how cute."

"Shut up," Julius replied with a grumble as he took back his phone. "You're not funny you know."

"I wasn't being funny," Rhuben replied as she brushed her hair out of her face and took a step closer to her brother, looking excited. "Have you asked her yet? We all want to know." She motioned to her brothers and sister, who were talking to Natasha, Katie, Kendall, Jo, Camille, and James as they pointed out different stores that they liked to go to.

"Not yet, Munchkin," Julius replied with a sigh as he shoved his phone into his pocket and wiped sweat off of his forehead. He looked annoyed when he saw the saddened expression on Rhuben's face. "It's not as easy as you think." He replied. "How hard do you think it was for Logan to get you back?" he motioned over to Rhuben's boyfriend. "By the way, my threat from last time still stands."

"I'm aware." Rhuben replied with a shake of her head. "But please let us know when you do ask her. We want to help with the wedding arrangements and everything." Julius peered at her as she crossed her arms over her chest. "What?"

"Since when did you become more girly?" he questioned teasingly.

"Since I've been hanging around them," she waved her arm towards Jo, Camille, and Stephanie. "They're cool and all, but I can only take so much girlyness at one time." She smirked before turning away from her brother and walking over to Logan, who was studying a map. "What's the map for?" she questioned as she took the paper from his hands and laced her fingers in his. "I think I'd know where I'm going."

"It's not that," Logan smiled as he gently swung their hands back and forth. "I was looking to see if there was anything that you and I could go see…alone…" his smile grew wider when Rhuben blushed and he kissed her cheek. "With the last few days that we're supposed to be here, it shouldn't be too hard."

"Yeah," Rhuben raised her eyebrows. "If my brothers aren't bothering me all the time."

"They're not bad," Logan replied as he gently rubbed his hand up and down her arm. "They just want to spend some time with you. Plus, I find it nice that you're willing to hang out with them."

"How nice?" Rhuben asked as she wrapped an arm around his neck. Logan smiled back and kissed her, smiling happily. "That's what I thought." Rhuben stated as she pulled away and turned to her friends "Are you guys done buying little things?" she asked, directly aiming it towards the girls. They smiled and nodded in reply. "Good, so now we're going to go to the opera house."

They all started to walk again and Katie looked around at her friends. Kendall and Riley were walking arm in arm, sharing a small bag of candy, Rhuben and Logan were walking hand in hand, talking about some of the music that she had written lately, James and Jo were walking with their pinkies interlocked, talking about the small store they had just left, and Carlos and Stephanie were walking with Carlos' arm around her shoulder and her head resting on his shoulder. She looked over at Noah and felt a little annoyed, as he wasn't trying to spend even the littlest amount of time with her. He was just walking along with Patrick, Natasha, and Sydney. It was obvious from the way that he was walking with his hands shoved in his pockets and looking at the ground that he hadn't told Patrick that they had kissed.

Finally, she grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him back a little bit. "I'm not going to beat around the bush, I'm just going to ask you straight out and fast," Katie said as Noah looked at her in confusion. "How come you haven't told your brother that we kissed?" she asked quietly.

"It's not easy to tell someone," Noah replied as he raised an eyebrow. "Especially since he's my twin and he likes you too." He looked annoyed himself. "I'm working on it."

"Yeah, well, you might want to work faster." Katie replied and started walking faster.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Noah called after her, throwing his arms into the air when she didn't answer him. Up ahead, Patrick, who heard his outburst, said something to Sydney, who latched onto Natasha's hand, turned and went over to his brother.

"What's wrong, buddy?" he asked, eyes filled with concern. "What made Kates get so mad?"

"Uh," Noah stalled, blinking rapidly. He knew that now was a good time to tell his brother, but he was also not sure how Patrick would react. He had seen him get angry before and sometimes it was worse than Riley's temper tantrums. "It was nothing." He shook his head and forced a smile. "Really, it's nothing."

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid," Patrick rubbed sweat off of his nose and poked Noah in the chest. "I know you better than you know yourself. So you can't hide anything from me." He peered at Noah's face. "Something bothering you, I can tell." He placed his hands on his hips. "You and Katie have been acting weird ever since yesterday. What's up?"

"Just remember," Noah sighed as he looked away, his hair getting brushed from his face by the warm wind. "You're the one that asked for me to tell you, so if you get upset, it's not my fault." Patrick's eyes widened slightly, silently asking Noah to continue. "Yesterday, when you and Natasha went to get the ice cream that I asked you for…I told Katie how I feel about her…and I kissed her."

Patrick blinked once and his face seemed to harden a little bit. "What?" Somehow he made the word sound like a question and a statement at the same time.

"Just remember that in the first place you said that you I could go for her if I wanted." Noah added, looking a little sheepish as he wrung his hands together. He looked at Patrick and saw that he hand clenched his jaw and turned away. "Dude, don't be like this." He placed his hand on Patrick's shoulder and a hurt expression filled his face as Patrick roughly moved away from him.

"Hey," Julius, who was taking up the rear of the whole group, immediately knew that something was bothering Patrick and Noah. "What's going on?" he asked firmly.

"Nothing." Patrick muttered in reply, turning his glare to his brother.

"Then turn off the eyes if it's nothing," Julius stated, looking unconvinced. Actually, he wasn't convinced at all. Having helped raise all five of his siblings he could always tell when something was up. The fact that the six of them sort of had a sixth sense for each other helped too. "But since I'm not stupid, why don't you just tell me what it is."

"I already told you," Patrick replied heatedly as he turned his gaze to his twin, who flinched and looked away. "It's nothing."

"Right," Julius sighed as he grabbed his ringing cell phone. "Hello?" he asked, bringing it up to his ear." He listened for a second and then pulled it away. "Hey guys, wait up a minute." Riley, who was at the lead, stopped walking and turned to see what her brother was doing, "Seriously?" he let out a little laugh as he grabbed onto the fringe that fell into his eyes. "Ronan are you serious?"

"Ronan?" Sydney moved over to Julius and grabbed onto the bottom of his shirt. "Let me hear? What's going on?"

"Would you just wait?" Patrick snapped impatiently. Sydney turned to him and stuck out his tongue.

"Whatever's bothering you deal with it," Sydney stated as his calm face melted into one of offense. "And don't take it out on me, because I've lived enough of my life having to listen to someone yell at me for no reason." His words must have hit a nerve in Patrick, as he fell silent, but still looked as angry as ever.

"What's going on?" Stephanie asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Hold on," Julius pushed a button on his phone and held his hand out; a second later everyone was able to hear Ronan's voice as if he was standing right next to them. "Go ahead and tell them what you just told me."

"_Are you sure you don't want to sit down first?"_ Ronan asked in a teasing tone, it was obvious that he liked to keep the Jacksons on edge whenever it came to exciting news. As it was, Sydney looked like he was getting ready to blast off into space.

"Cut the crap and just tell us!" Riley demanded, wiping her hands off on her pants.

"_Ok, first, I didn't believe this myself. But I wanted to tell you guys as soon as I heard it…you have been nominated for the Album of the Year ARIA Award."_ Before he could even finish his sentence, he was drowned out by Riley's and Rhuben's loud, excited screams.

"That's probably the only time that I'm ever going to screen like a girl." Riley stated before crushing Julius in a hug. "Is he serious? He can't be serious!"

"Dude, I can't believe it!" Sydney's eyes were wide with anticipation. "You're seriously not joking? This isn't a cruel joke?"

"_No,"_ Ronan's laughter could be heard easily. _"You guys have actually been nominated for an ARIA, and that means that you're going to have to stay here for a few more days as its coming up soon. So don't be surprised if you get more magazine and TV interviews and stuff."_

"No problem," Rhuben beamed. "It's _so_ worth it, thanks for letting us know and we'll be back soon."

"Take your time; I know that you're going to want to celebrate, so I'll see you guys later." Julius hung up his phone and gave each of his siblings a hug.

"Congratulations, guys." Jo beamed and gave her girlfriends a hug. "But...what's an ARIA exactly?"

"To make a long story short it's an award show that only Australians can get nominated in or win." Patrick explained shortly. He didn't seem too excited over the news that they had just gotten.

"Dude," Noah looked annoyed. "Just because you're mad at me doesn't mean that you can take your annoyance out on other people." Patrick merely flipped him off in reply and stalked off. Noah sighed loudly and shook his head.

"What's going on?" James asked as he turned to the younger boy.

"Nothing that we can't work out," Noah replied looking troubled as he glanced over at Katie, who looked away. He sighed as he watched his twin's retreating figure. "Don't worry about it."

* * *

"_Come on guys, we have to get going! You don't want to be late for the awards"_

Patrick quickly ran a brush through his hair and grabbed a tie off of the back of his chair, quickly tying it around his neck. Across the room, Noah watched as Patrick continued to try tying his tie, the evident frustration that he was feeling causing him to just tie it in a knot and practically choke himself.

"Here," Noah got up from his bed and moved across the room, gently pushing Patrick's hands away and taking the tie in his own hands, skillfully tying Patrick's tie. "There you go." He smiled a little and looked up at Patrick, who just muttered something and turned away. Noah sighed and shook his head.

This had been going on ever since he had told his brother that he had kissed Katie and that just made things awkward between the three of them. It had only been two days, but Patrick had barely talked to Noah and it was starting to worry him.

"Pat, can we _please_ talk about this?" Noah asked as Patrick continued to get ready for the ARIA awards.

"What's there to talk about?" Patrick muttered, his eyes scanning his desk as if he was looking for something, but Noah knew him well enough to know that he was just stalling for time.

"You know what we have to talk about," Noah commented as he walked across the room and stood next to his brother, blocking his exit from the room. "I think I know why you're mad, and it's not because Katie chose me over you," Patrick stayed silent and Noah continued. "I think it's because you're afraid that I will become too preoccupied with her to pay attention to you."

"Pshhht," Patrick snorted as he shook his head. "That's stupid."

"Is it really?" Noah questioned, finally getting Patrick to look at him. "It makes sense, we've had to depend on each other for a long time and I can honestly say that I've thought about the same thing when it came to the fact that you could have quite possibly gotten a girlfriend before I did. I was afraid that we wouldn't be as close as we were before." He fell silent again, waiting for Patrick to say something.

"I've always hated it when you were able to read my mind." Patrick finally muttered, smiling a little bit. "And that _is_ how I feel, twins or not, eventually we're going to have our own families and that we can't always be there for each other."

"Mmm," Noah pretended to think about it. "You're forgetting that plan that we have that even if we _do_ get married we'll live in the same house."

"And then when one of our wives wants us to move out we'll just move into the house next door." Patrick smiled and the two of them laughed a little bit. "Wow, we're really stupid." He commented.

"You may be, but I'm certainly not stupid." Noah replied with a cheeky grin. Patrick smiled back and then raised his eyebrows when Noah opened his arms, wiggling his fingers. "Oh come on," he looked a little hurt. "You're not going to stiff me on a hug are you?"

"I was thinking about it," Patrick replied honestly. "But then I wouldn't want that guilt when we're onstage after we win the award."

"You mean, _if_" Noah corrected.

"No, I mean _when_." Patrick grinned and wrapped his arms around his brother in a hug. Noah smiled and hugged him back. "I love you, buddy."

"I love you, too." Noah replied and then took a step back, intentionally taking a swipe at Patrick's hair. "Did you really think that I would ditch you for a girl?"

"You never know." Patrick replied with a shrug. "Now, what I'm thinking is that we should hurry up and get downstairs because we all know that Rhuben is going to want to take some pictures before we leave." He turned and grabbed two studded belts off of the wall, handing one to Noah. "And right now, I don't need her snapping at me."

"That's true." Noah smiled and followed his brother out the room and down the stairs, meeting up with Julius and Sydney, who were in the living room, making sure that they had everything. "Ri-Ri and Rhu-Rhu taking forever again?"

"Pretty much," Julius replied with a grin. "But you know girls, even if they're not the girliest ones on the planet, they're still going to take a bit to make sure that they look perfect." He looked innocent as Riley and Rhuben walked into the room. "You two look lovely."

"Cut the crap Julius, we heard what you said." Riley replied, looking only slightly annoyed. But the fact that in less than three hours she could figure out whether or not their band won an award that they had dreamed of winning since they were much younger. "But nothing can make me annoyed today."

"Oooh," Sydney held a hand over his mouth as he used the other to point out Riley. "You swore; you have to put two dollars in the potty mouth jar."

"Crap isn't a swear word." Riley denied as she pulled a compact mirror out of her purse and quickly looked at her reflection before handing it over to Patrick, knowing that he'd want to use it for his hair. She looked over at Sydney, who looked smug. "It _is_?"

"Since when?" Even Noah looked confused about that small piece of information. Sydney just smiled in response, causing all of his siblings to roll their eyes and fish two dollars out of their pockets or their purse.

"Hey, are you guys ready to go?" Ronan asked as he walked into the room, a cell phone up to his ear and rubbing his hands together. "Big night."

"Trust me, we're all aware." Rhuben replied as she used the mirror in the room to check to see if the ribbon in her hair was holding up right. "We haven't stopped thinking about it for the past two days." She added and turned back around, noticing the look on Sydney's face. "What is it, Little Man?" she questioned.

"What if we don't win the award?" Sydney asked quietly as he tugged at the bottom of his shirt. "I know that we've all been thinking about it, but no one has said anything out loud, so I figured that we might as well clear the air."

"Well," Ronan walked over to the small boy and ran his fingers through his hair. "Even if you don't win, you're going to get a lot of exposure to the media as you have been a band that went from suffering abuse for years, to turning their lives around and getting nominated for a prestigious award."

"But I don't want to always be known as that band that was abused by their father." Sydney pointed out and then looked at his siblings. "I know that you guys have been thinking it too." The guilty looks on Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, and Noah's faces proved that he was right.

"Well, then we're going to prove them wrong," Riley stated as she placed her hands on her hips. "We're a band that isn't like any other band and we're going to prove it to whoever thinks differently."

"Right," Patrick nodded in agreement as he gave a lopsided smile. "And whatever they have to say that's negative, we'll just throw it back in their faces. He saw an annoyed looked crossed Riley's face. "What?"

"I just felt like Kendall for a second." She replied, looking even more annoyed.

"What do you mean?" Noah asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's always making these stupid little speeches like 'One thing I've learned since we've left Minnesota," Rhuben waved a hand. "Blah, blah, blah. It's always an inspirational speech that gets them going for some plan that he makes up." She explained.

"Oh." Sydney replied and giggled. "I can see how that can get annoying."

"Come on guys, we're going to be late." Julius looked at his watch and started to usher his brother and sisters to the door. "We're going to pick up everyone else from the hotel and go from there." He shook Patrick's and Noah's shoulders. "C'mon, get pumped, you guy. We're going to the ARIA Awards."

"Whoooo!" Patrick and Noah cheered, punching the air with their fists.

"That's what I'm talking about!"

The Jacksons and Ronan quickly moved to the limo and got in, talking excitedly about who was nominated in the other categories as they went to the hotel to pick up everyone else. Surprisingly, Gustavo had a big smile on his face and when asked, he said that it was just because he was happy for the Jacksons. Kendall, of course, didn't believe that, and continued to question Gustavo until Gustavo cracked and finally admitted that he knew how much exposure that he could get BTR on the Red Carpet. James started to bounce excitedly in his seat when he heard that.

"James, sit still." Jo groaned as she watched James constantly fix his hair, looking at his reflection in the rearview mirror.

"I have to look perfect," James replied as he continued to move a strand of his fringe back and forth across his forehead, with light flicks of his fingers. "I can't only be 'the face' back in the US. I have to be 'the face' worldwide."

"Heaven forbid that one day when you're playing hockey you get your face bashed in," Jo returned, causing Camille and Stephanie to laugh at the horror filled expression that slid onto his face. "You look handsome James, and I wouldn't be going with you if I didn't think that." She kissed his cheek for extra measure.

"Well," James leaned back and slid his arm around Jo's shoulders. "If you say so." He smiled and kissed her cheek.

"You're going to have to keep a lid on that when we get there," Kelly warned, although she was smiling. "If not, you're going to get a lot of media attention that you don't want or need right now."

"And here we go again." Jo sighed as James sat up straight and started to mess with his hair again.

They all rode in the limo for a few more minutes before they pulled up at the Sydney Opera house, where the ARIA Awards were being held. The boys helped the girls out of the limo and they started the short walk inside, pausing for a few pictures and interviews.

"Katie, wait," Noah grabbed onto her arm as she started to move into the opera house. He licked his lips nervously. "I just wanted to tell you that I told Patrick about the two of us."

"And?" Katie raised an eyebrow, wondering how her friend had taken the news. Both Patrick and Noah are her best friends and she didn't even want one of them mad at her. "What did he say?"

"He's fine with it," Noah replied as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "The only reason that he was mad about it in the first place is because he was scared that I wouldn't have time for him anymore." He smiled and rubbed his neck. "Which is ridiculous, by the way."

"Well, that's good." Katie smiled and held out her hand. "Because if he wasn't good with it, then I wouldn't want to date either of you." She smiled teasingly.

"That's good to know," Noah replied and kissed her cheek. "C'mon, let's go inside." He took her hand and followed his brothers and sisters inside to get to their seats. He sat down next to Patrick and he and Katie smiled at him.

"The only thing that I'm asking is that you don't gross me out with your lovey-dovey crap." Patrick muttered as he shook his head, although a smile was on his face. He leaned forward and gave Katie a quick hug.

Shortly after everyone had been seated the awards ceremony started. The Jacksons cheered loudly for those who they knew really well and clapped along appreciatively for whoever had won. Soon it was almost time for their category to be called.

"Are you ok?" Kendall asked as he turned to Riley, noticing that she was constantly uncrossing and crossing her legs as it got closer and closer to her category.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Riley replied as she started to bite her nails. She made a face when some of the chipped nail polish got into her mouth.

"No, you're a nervous wreck." Kendall laughed and took Riley's hand in his, patting it gently. "Ruby, even if you don't win, all of us are going to be so proud and happy for you guys for getting this far." He smiled warmly. "Besides, if you _do_ win, then that proves that your Don't Stop Believing project is a success for yourselves."

"So how is it that you can give good pep talks, but expressing your feeling when it comes to emotional moments you really suck, Hockey-Head?" Riley questioned with a teasing smile.

"Because I'm not good when it comes to emotional things," Kendall replied after he thought about it for a second. I'm horrible at goodbyes, and things that I do to try and be romantic ends up being extremely cheesy."

"You're right about that," Riley replied as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey," Kendall looked offended as he jostled her gently. He then brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it gently. "You're going to be fine." He added quietly.

"Thanks Hockey-Head."

"You're welcome, Ruby."

"Shh," Rhuben, who was on Riley's other side, whispered out of the side of her mouth. "They're going to announce the winner." She smiled and grabbed onto Riley's hand and Sydney's hand on her other side. Sydney smiled and stretched his arm across Katie's lap to hold onto Noah's hand, who in turn, grabbed Patrick's, who grabbed Julius' hand.

"_And now, presenting the award for Best Album of the Year would you welcome MTV's Ruby Rose and International Music Sensation, Orianthi"_

The crowd cheered loudly as the two women walked onstage, holding onto microphones and waving to the audience with bright smiles on their faces.

"I'm not going to waste anyone's time with this because I'm sure that everyone wants to know the winner of this category." Ruby said as she turned to Orianthi.

"I have to agree with you on that, we have so many great albums that came out this year and everybody wants to know the top one for Australians." Orianthi agreed and then brought the microphone back to her mouth. "And then nominees are."

"_AC/DC - Black Ice, Empire of the Sun –Walking on A Dream's Bones, Eskimo Joe – Inshalla, Sarah Blasko – As Day Follows Night, The DarkElements- Broken Walls, and The Temper Trap – Conditions."_

"And the ARIA Award goes to…" Orianthi moved the microphone away from her mouth to rip open the envelope. Riley bit her lips in anticipation, Rhuben squeezed Sydney's hand tighter, Sydney squeezed his eyes shut, Noah said a quick prayer, and Patrick tried to slow down his heart beat as they waited.

"The DarkElements, Broken Walls!"

Patrick and Noah leapt to their feet, punching the air, as Riley, Rhuben, and Sydney stayed rooted in the spot, not sure what had just happened. Noah hauled Sydney to his feet and hugged him tightly as Sydney started in happiness. The crowd exploded into loud cheers as the five of them made their way out of the aisle and started to walk down to the stage to accept their award, high-fiving people along the way, their song _Hold On _playing in the background. Finally, they made it up on stage and Sydney reached out and took the award, giving Orianthi and Ruby a quick hug.

"Wow," Patrick stepped up to the microphone and grinned as he heard some girls scream his name. "Thank You." He licked his lips. "Really, we never thought that this would happen to us, as for years we had dreamed of getting an ARIA Award for anything. It just proves that we really made a difference in the music of Australia." He stepped back as Noah moved to the microphone.

"None of this would have happened if you guys, our fans didn't vote for us, didn't believe in us, and most importantly didn't listen to our music." He brushed his hair out his face. "Thanks." Sydney moved forward next and had to be lifted up by Patrick and Noah to reach the microphone, causing some people to laugh.

"We would like to thank all of our friends back here in Sydney, Australia who had been helping us throughout the years," Sydney stated. "I'm sure as all of you know by now we were abused for a while, and the only way that we got through it was you guys, who supported us in any way possible. The only reason that we never told anyone was because we focused on our music and our friends and fans to help us through it. So thank you."

"We'd also like to thank our friends from our new home in LA," Rhuben added as she moved forward and stood next to her siblings, leaning over to reach the microphone. "Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, and Logan Mitchell of Big Time Rush, our best friends and our main music support group. Along with Jo Tarver, Camille Sanders, Stephanie King, and Kendall's little sister, Katie." She waved to her friends, who smiled and nodded back. "Without them, we wouldn't be here right now.

"And we would also like to thank Mrs. Knight, who has acted like a mother to all of us and Kelly Wainright and Gustavo Rocque from Rocque records, who had given us a hand in making _Broken Walls_. We'd also like to thank our cast mates and crew at our show Living the Rockstar Life, as they helped us put out our music along with the show" Riley smiled. "Last but not least we'd like to thank our big brother, Julius, who has always believed in us and has worked with everything that we have ever done, even if he was back here working on college stuff. And we want to give a big thanks to Ronan, who is now our adoptive father and has done anything and everything that you can believe to help us through life and through our music career. Thanks guys."

She and her siblings blew kisses towards the audience and walked backstage to put down their award before joining everyone back in the audience. The rest of the awards show blew by and by the time that it was over, the Jacksons' cheeks were hurting from smiling so big.

"Congratulations, guys." Logan gave Riley and Rhuben a big hug, kissing each girl on the cheek. "I knew that you guys would get it."

"Thanks for the shout outs by the way." Camille agreed as she gave all five of them a hug.

"Thanks," Rhuben grinned down at the award again. "God, I can't believe this happened. Life can't get any better than this!" she declared.

"I think it can," Ronan stated, getting the Jacksons' attention as they turned to face him. "How does a concert tomorrow night sound?"

"Ace!" Patrick and Noah high-fived.

"Correction," Riley beamed and hugged Sydney tightly. "_Now _nothing can get better than this."

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**A/N: Alright, this chapter and the next chapter are the last ones where the gang is in Australia, then after they they're going back to LA and the Palm Woods. I have something big planned for Camille that I doubt you guys will see coming. Anyways, I'm gearing up towards the sequel which is why these chapters may seem boring, but they do have to do with what the sequel to this is going to be about. And as for my new series with the Jacksons what do you think of 'Big Time Boarding School'?**

**Anyways, don't forget to check out my sister's story Big Time Rush of Adrenaline, and our new one-shot collection called Big Time One-Shots. Oh and if you want to ask us questions or what not, we have formsprings and twitters so if you want to know our names for them, just let us know. Thanks!**

**-Riley**


	23. Big Time Australia Pt5: DE's Concert

**A/N: This is a shorter chapter as if goes through the concert, so a few songs are going to be in this chapter.**

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****.:Chapter Twenty Three – Big Time Australia Part 5:.**

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"How much time do we have left?" Sydney asked casually as he lay down on the couch that was in the DarkElements' dressing room.

It was finally the night of the concert that they were putting on to say 'bye' to Australia before going back to the US. And since they were so used to giving concerts, they weren't that nervous and were just lounging around as they waited for their cue to go onstage. Riley and Rhuben were sitting at mirrors, putting on makeup, and Patrick and Noah were sitting on the couch along with Sydney, playing a game of cards, as they placed the deck on the small boys' stomach.

"I'm not sure," Noah muttered in reply as he frowned at the cards in his hands. "But try not to talk so much, your movements are causing the deck to spill."

"What game are you playing?" Rhuben questioned, looking at the two of them through the mirror as she leaned forward, putting on some eyeliner. She paused and looked at the concentrating expressions on Patrick and Noah's faces. "Let me guess," she smiled as she put down the tiny stick that was in her hand. "Poker right?"

"Yep." Patrick replied and rubbed his nose. "And _no_," he looked down at Sydney who looked back at him with a wide smile. "You _can't_ play."

"Sore loser." Sydney mumbled under his breath as he rolled his eyes. The five of them turned as there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" he shouted, sitting up, causing the cards on his stomach to go spilling to the ground. He ignored Patrick's and Noah cries of protest as Julius walked into the room, carrying a clipboard and a head set around his neck. "Hey Juli, what's going on?" he asked anxiously.

"Nothing," Julius replied with a warm smiled and then it waned a little. "And stop calling me Juli, I'm not a girl." He added seriously. "You guys are going to be going on in ten minutes." He looked around. "Do you want your friends to come in here before you start?"

"No," Riley shook her head as she turned in her seat. She quickly explained. "It's better for our nervous energy if we wait for after the show."

"Who's nervous?" Ronan questioned as he walked into the room, sliding his hands into his jeans pockets casually. He looked around the room and gave a smile. "I hope you guys aren't because I won't be able to find another band that will take your place."

"You could get Big Time Rush," Noah pointed out. "But then again, they'd probably piss themselves when it comes to being nervous of playing in front of 10,000 fans."

"Ok, what's wrong?" Ronan stated as he looked around the room at his kids. "I know that you guys aren't nervous as you've done this so many times its not even funny. So there must be something else that's bothering you."

"We were just thinking," Rhuben sighed as she brushed her hair out of her face. "What will this concert do for us?" she looked around. "Realistically speaking, I mean. We know that everyone is trying to figure out how we're going to do, since this is our first concert since dad was thrown in jail for good." She suddenly lowered her voice. "I think I'm asking what all of us are thinking…what if we bomb?" she whispered the last part of her question, looking away.

"So what if you bomb?" Julius questioned as he threw his arms into the air. "You've bombed on the first ever concert that the five of you did together and everything was fine after that."

"Yeah, but that was before we were as big as we are now," Sydney pointed out as he rubbed his forehead in weariness. "I mean, it could be embarrassing, we'll have people talking about us-"

"So what?" Ronan snorted as he moved his clipboard aside and moved to close eh circle with his kids. "People are already talking with the award that you've just won and the fact that that you have finally gotten rid of the torture that has been messing with your for years." He shook his head. "If I didn't know you guys, I would say that you're the most inspiring people that I could ever be a fan of, and that I wouldn't care if you messed up your concert."

"Yeah and if there's every anything wrong, don't just leave it bottled up." Julius agreed with a nod. "You can come to me, Ronan, Kelly, Mama Knight, your friends, hell, even Gustavo." He made a face as his siblings giggled at the thought of them asking to talk through their problems with Gustavo. "We're all going to be here for you, no matter what."

"What about when you and Brittany are married?" Patrick asked as he rubbed his chin, looking mischievous about something. "Can we still go over to your house and stuff?"

"Come over to hang out, yes, to eat, no." Julius replied and smiled warmly. "I'm proud of you guys, don't ever forget that." He stepped forward and gave each of them a kiss on the forehead, causing each of them to blush. They all turned when the door opened again and the stage manager poked his head into the room, telling them that they had five minutes before they had to go on. "Oh, jeez." Julius looked at his watch and mentally panicked a little bit. "We have to go, have a good show you guys and we'll see you at the end. Break a leg." He and Ronan quickly grabbed their clipboards and headsets and rushed out of the room.

"Alright," Riley clasped her hands together and looked over at her siblings. "Let's look at the set list and our outfit changes one more time." She smiled a little. "Just to make sure and so we can get pumped up."

"Whoo! New concert!" Patrick declared, finally starting to get hyper. He was bouncing up and down on his feet and his eyes were wide and sparkling. "Let's get this started; I'm so ready to go!"

"Oh, so _now_ you don't have a care in the world." Noah rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help but smile too. "Five minutes, I wish that it could go by faster."

"It will, it will," Rhuben waved her hands as she turned and followed Riley to the rack that held their clothes on them. She looked at the wall beside them and found a sheet of paper that had all the names of the songs that we were doing. "Ok so the set list is going back and forth between songs that we need our headmics for. We're opening up with These Walls, then we're doing Still Frame, Place for My head, The Kill, California, All Downhill from here, Way Away, This I Promise You, You're The Inspiration, Eenie Meenie, and ending with our single, It's Been a Summer."

"And here are all of the clothes that we're using for our concert tonight," Riley added as she waved a hand over herself and then over the rack of clothes. "Note that the theme for this concert is that we're all wearing camouflage at one point." Sydney raised his hand in the air, wiggling his fingers. "Yes? This isn't a class; you don't have to raise your hand."

"Ok," Sydney lowered his hand and rubbed his nose. "What if we get too hot under the stage lights?" he questioned. "I mean, what with the camouflage and everything."

"Oh, I thought ahead on that," Riley replied and then scanned the rack that had Sydney's name on it and grabbed a blue camouflage t-shirt. She held up the shirt and motioned to the areas under the armpits. "I had the wardrobe make all of our shirts that has small holes to stay cool."

"Good idea." Patrick nodded appreciatively. The door opened again and they were called for one minute left. "Let's go guys." The five of them left the dressing room and followed the stage manager through the maze of hallways backstage, towards the stage, the cheering and talking from the audience getting louder and louder as they went.

"Ok, you guys are going to go on these platform and crouch down," the stage manager explained as the Jacksons got fitted with their headmics. "Just make sure that you don't come out from your crouch until you see the audience. I don't want any of you hitting your heads, other than that have a great show."

"Thanks!" The Jacksons called back over their shoulders.

"This is it guys," Riley stated, a huge grin on her face, wringing her hands in nervous excitement. "Let's go out and have a good show, alright?" She put her right hand out, staring the tradition that they always had before they performed a concert. "Fire!"

"Darkness!" Rhuben placed her right hand on top of her sister's.

"Thunder!" Patrick did the same.

"SilverWind!" Noah mimicked his brother and lightly hip-bumped Rhuben, causing her to smile.

"Spirits!" Sydney placed his small hand on top of Noah's and smiled so big that his dimples were the deepest that they had ever seen.

"DarkElements, Rocking the world with our power!" The five of them stated in unison, pulling their hands back as they laughed and climbed into the metal contraption that would send them up onstage, crouching low. The lights in the concert hall dimmed and the screams got louder as the backup band started to play a guitar solo.

Riley took a deep breath and started to sing.

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"Oh, I'm so nervous for them." Jo stated as she wrung her hands together, before messing with the VIP badge that was around their neck. "I really want them to have a good show." She looked around at all of the fans that were standing around her or where sitting in the seats up in the balconies. It was amazing to see how many people would be glad to see the Jacksons perform. It just made her happy and proud that James was one day going to get there.

"And they're _going_ to have a good show," James replied as he gently patted her on the shoulder. "They've been practicing all day and they wouldn't even let us go to see them before the show today, so they're going to do fine." He made a sound as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're still offended aren't you?" Kendall asked as he peered at his friend.

"Yes, yes I am." James nodded in reply. "Because apparently _we're_ not good enough of friends to be able to see them perform."

"You're acting like such a drama queen!" Katie rolled her eyes and turned to her friend as she placed her hands on her hips. "They didn't mean it personally as it's the only way that they wouldn't be distracted so they could hard to make sure that they put on a good show." She took a breath and continued speaking. "It's nothing against you personally, so _suck it up_!" she snapped, her speech causing everyone to laugh at James.

"Kendall, can I have your little sister?" Camille asked teasingly. "You don't seem to be doing anything with her at the moment."

"Take her all you want," Kendall shrugged in reply. "The only time she's useful is if we're trying to get spending money." He smiled as Katie looked offended and punched him on the arm. "Ow! I was just joking!"

"You should know by now that she doesn't like it when you joke around, Kendall." Logan replied with a laugh as he watched his friend continue to get hit by his little sister, who was demanding him to take it back. "Especially when it comes to whether or not she's a good sister. With jokes like that, you probably wouldn't make a good father."

"So the time that you two babysat all of those kids didn't give you a clue?" Carlos asked as she pulled Stephanie out of the way of a guy who was trying to move by her to get to his friends. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her neck and rested his chin on her head. "Although, I think that getting tied up like that would be cool." He grinned. "That way I can be an escape artist."

"You have the better chance of turning into a monkey." Camille replied with a laugh. "Although, knowing him it wouldn't be that hard."

Carlos stuck his tongue out in reply as Stephanie spoke up. "Don't be making fun of my boyfriend," she replied, completely joking. "Only I can make fun of him."

"Gee thanks."

"You're welcome."

_Something missing left behind. Search in circles. Every time I try_." Riley's voice came over the concert hall and the audience around Big Time Rush and the Big Time Rush girls immediately burst out into cheers and applause as the backup band played along with her voice. _"I've been here before. I've seen you before."_

There was a burst of sparks from the pyrotechnics that had been rigged on the stage and suddenly the Jacksons appeared out from underneath the stage, dressed in matching shirts and pants, headmics around their ears.

"I can't escape winding down these halls. Hard to find a place where there are no walls. And no lines begging me to cross. Only straight ahead better move along." They sang as Patrick and Noah moved to the front of the stage, clapping out a beat, the audience clapping along with them. Sydney and Riley moved towards the sides of the stage as Rhuben walked forward, along with the beat of the song, to stand in between Patrick and Noah.

"Like Clockwork, I commit the crime." She sang as she reached down and touched a few people's hands. I pretend to be everything they like." She turned and pointed towards Logan, smiling a little. He blushed and gave a small wave back. "I've been here before. I've seen you before." She jogged backwards to the beat of the song and the Jacksons came together in their new formation: Patrick, Riley, Sydney, Rhuben, and then Noah.

"I can't escape winding down these halls. Hard to find a place where there are no walls." And no lines begging me to cross. Only straight ahead better move along." They sang, dancing across the stage, putting all of their strength and emotion into each dance move, pumping their bodies and hitting each mark as they had practiced earlier that day. "And I trade everything for this. And I trade everything for this. Why do I read the writing on the wall? Why do I read the writing on the wall?"

The Jacksons performed a group back flip and landed easily on their feet. Patrick, Noah, and Sydney moved towards the front of the stage as Riley and Rhuben moved to the side, stretching their arms as they went.

"I won't lose my place in line." Patrick sang, breathing heavily, little beads of sweat already gathering on his forehead. "I've been here too long and I've spent too much time." He rolled his feet and pointed over to Noah, who took up singing next.

"I won't lose my place in line." He sang, waving to some people in the crowd. "I've been here too long and I've spent too much time."

"Something missing. Left behind." Sydney sang, each breath punctuating the pauses in the song. "Search in circles, every time I try. I've been here before, yeah. I've seen you before."

As the Jacksons started to sing again, Riley and Rhuben ran forward, swung their arms down and did a series of front flips along with the beat of the song. Before meeting in the middle and doing a simultaneous "I can't escape winding down these halls." Patrick, Noah, and Sydney sang.

"Hard to find a place where there are no walls." Riley and Rhuben sang, punching the air for emphasis, their hair flying across their faces.

"And no lines begging me to cross. Only straight ahead better move along. And I trade everything for this. And I trade everything for this. Why do I read the writing on the wall? Why do I read the writing on the wall? Why do I read the writing on the wall? Why do I read the writing on the wall?"

They finished the song to a loud roar of applause and waved back to the crowd and to their friends, wiping sweat off of their forehead. "Thank you!" Patrick called as they walked over to the backup band and took over the instruments that they were holding. "We're glad you guys could come out and support us tonight." He grabbed the microphone and pulled it off its stand as his brothers and sisters got ready. "I'm sure by now all of you have heard that we won an ARIA Award for Best Album of the Year." He smiled at the feedback.

"That's right we did win," Riley jumped in, sticking her tongue out at Patrick, who looked annoyed. "And if it wasn't for you guys, we definitely wouldn't have won. "And it's all thanks to you guys, and you've always been such great fans to us, even when we've come home and didn't really want to do anything. You've been nice enough to respect our privacy. This concert is a thanks to you guys. So thank you."

"The theme of this little concert," Rhuben stated from where she was sitting behind a drum set. "Is so in our music, you can hear how we've gone through all the band things in life and then started to go through all of the good things. You can hear it evidently in the song California. And that's what we're going to be playing later.

"But for now, this is Still Frame." Noah stated into his microphone as he tuned his guitar. "We hope you guys like it." He looked over at Katie and caught her gaze, smiling a little as she gave him thumbs up.

The Jacksons' concert went by fast, at least, that's how the Jacksons felt. They were having so much fun performing on stage that they decided to stop in between songs to bring some people up on stage to give them stuff that they had brought from their dressing room. They even got a small contest going to get someone to tweet them something on twitter. The winner got a set of drumsticks from Rhuben. And they even went ahead and got Ronan to bring them a bag of fan mail and read some aloud and answered some questions. To their friends in the audience, it was one of the best shows that they had ever been to, as the Jacksons had stopped to act like normal people, talking to some fans and answering letters, along with doing what they loved to do.

_"I'd know when you would come back. It's been a summer. It's burning up in here, even though the bed is cold on your side. I'd rather die, than spend this night here without you. It's burning up in here, even though the bed is cold on your side. I'd rather die, than spend this night here without you."_

"Alright," Sydney picked his microphone up from the stand and moved away from behind the piano and joined his brothers and sisters as they walked towards the front of the stage. "As you know, we usually play our first hit single _It's Been A Summer _as the last song at our concert, but tonight we're doing something a little differently.

"Recently, we started a project called 'Don't Stop Believing' which is a project that teaches people to not give up and to keep going on with their dreams." Riley said into her microphone as she brushed her hair behind her shoulders. "And this project holds a big part in our hearts and we're doing it all for you guys."

"So, for a special treat to you all, and to our friends," Noah motioned over to Big Time Rush and the Big Time Rush girls and smiled before addressing the audience again. "We're going to perform the song that caused us to get really popular in the United States, and it's the song that our music producer and our new dad, Ronan, discovered us with. This is our, acapella version of Don't Stop Believing."

He took a step back and Rhuben snapped a couple of times before she, Riley, Sydney, Patrick, and Noah started to sing the beat to the popular song. Patrick waited a few beats before staring into the song.

"Just a small town girl." He sang as his siblings continued with the beat of the song. "Livin' in a lonely world. She took the midnight train goin' anywhere."

"Just a city boy," Riley sang, walking to stand next to her brother. "Born and raised in South Detroit. He took the midnight train goin' anywhere." She and Patrick took a step back as the five of them continued to sing, smiling at each other, lightly tapping the beat of the song on their thighs. Sydney did a backflip as there was a crescendo in the music and started singing along with his siblings again.

"A singer in a smoky room." Rhuben sang, stepping forward with Noah. "The smell of wine and cheap perfume" The two of them raised the microphones to their mouths as they sang in unison. "For a smile they can share the night. It goes on and on and on and on." They pressed their foreheads against each other's and smiled as they sang.

"Strangers waiting. Up and down the boulevard." Rhuben and Noah sang as they did a small dance routine that they had worked on together. "Their shadows searching in the nights Streetlights, people, living just to find emotion, hiding somewhere in the nights."

As the band continued to play through the song, Patrick and Riley moved towards the front of the stage as Rhuben, Noah, and Sydney skipped to other sides of the stage, keeping the beat in true acapella fashion as they smiled and waved to the audience.

"Working hard to get my fill," Riley sang as she stamped her foot on the ground, keeping the beat. She smiled down at Kendall and waved. He smiled and nodded back, dancing along with his friends to the music. "Everybody wants a thrill."

"Payin' anything to roll the dice. Just one more time." She and Patrick sang in unison as he held his out hand. She took it in hers and he pulled her into him before spinning her off to the side. "Some will win, some will lose, some are born to sing the blues. And now the movie never ends. It goes on and on and on and on."

"Strangers waiting. Up and down the boulevard." Riley, Rhuben and Sydney sang as all five of them did the dance routine this time. "Their shadows searching in the nights Streetlights, people, living just to find emotion, hiding somewhere in the night."

The guitar solo started and the five of them turned around, confused. They smiled, though, when they saw Julius playing the solo on an electric guitar. The crowd exploded into cheers as the pyrotechnics went off at the same time as Patrick and Noah did a cartwheel and flipped across the stage. Julius smiled as he walked up to his siblings and over to the empty microphone that was at the front of the stage. As he stood in the middle, his siblings immediately filled in beside him. As he finished the guitar solo, the six of them sang together for the first time in a long time.

"Don't stop believing." The six of them sang in unison.

"Hold on to that feelin'" Riley and Julius sang as they smiled at each other. Julius flicked his head, moving his hair out of his face and smiled down at Brittany, who was standing really close to the stage, smiling and clapping her hands along with the music.

"Streetlight, people." As the six of them held out the long note, singing with all of the emotion that they held, their closed their eyes. They could feel their friends' support, and wanted to let everyone know that they were happy. "Don't stop believing. Hold on to that feelin'. Streetlight, people Don't stop!"

They stood on the stage, breathing heavily, and smiling the biggest smiles they had ever given as the crowd continued to scream and cheer for them. The six of them grabbed hands and did a bow in unison. "Thanks for coming out tonight!" Julius said into the microphone as the instrumental version of California played in the background as they walked offstage and the audience started to leave the concert hall. (Most likely to wait outside to get autographs.)

"Julius, why didn't you tell us that you were going to do that?" Sydney beamed as he tackled his older brother onto the couch.

"Then it would have ruined the surprise," Julius replied as he mussed his brother's hair and then made a face and wiped the sweat off on his shirt. "Ronan and I thought about it right after you guys first went on." He moved over and Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, and Noah crammed onto the couch. It was a tight fit, but it was perfect, too. "And I haven't sung with you guys, or at all, for a while, so I thought 'why not'."

"It was the _best_ surprise ever" Rhuben replied, smiling. Her eyes sparkled, so Julius knew that she was genuinely smiling. "Thanks."

"No problem." He laughed as Sydney tickled his stomach and his five brothers and sisters piled on top of him, tickling him mercilessly.

"Nice job you guys!" Ronan cried as he rushed into the room, looking as excited as they were. "That was completely amazing!" Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney got off of the couch and ran over and hugged him. "One of your best performances yet, I swear."

"And you were nervous about our performing." Riley teased, rolling her eyes, knowing full well that it was herself that was worried. "But what did we tell you? We'd do fine!" Ronan laughed sarcastically and hugged them all again. They were still talking with each other, trying to slow down their adrenaline rush, when their friends stormed the room, talking and shouting all at once.

"You did amazing!" Kendall cried as he grabbed Riley in a hug and spun her around in a circle before kissing her cheek, causing her to laugh happily. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and smiled down at her, his green eyes shining. "That was probably the best that I've ever seen you."

"Thank you," Riley replied and gave him a hug, breathing in his scent.

"This must have been really awesome for you guys," Logan stated as he hugged Rhuben tightly, rocking her back and forth. "First winning the award and now putting on such a great performance. I bet you can't wait to go on tour again."

"I can't wait for some time off, actually." Rhuben replied as she brushed her hair off her forehead. "Just to be a teenager for a while." She rested her head against his chest and allowed him to support her weight, already feeling exhausted

"Ooh, you know that that means don't you?" Camille asked, her eyes growing wide. She looked over at Jo and Stephanie, who seemed to have gotten what she was trying to say. Sydney raised his eyebrows as he watched their facial expressions. Knowing what was going to happen, he slapped his hands over his ears.

"Sleepover!" Jo, Stephanie, and Camille squealed in unison, throwing their hands into the air and burst out laughing. Riley and Rhuben groaned.

"Can't we get home and go to sleep first?" Patrick asked as he flopped down onto the couch, breathing heavily. Mrs. Knight walked into the room and waved to everyone, smiling at the Jacksons as if she was their own mother. "Hi Mama Knight." He greed tiredly. "Did you enjoy the show?"

"I did," Mrs. Knight replied with a nod. "You guys did such a great job. I'm sure you've heard it a lot, but that's really all anyone can say."

"Thank you" Patrick smiled and laid his head back against the couch, closing his eyes. All of a sudden he sat up, eyes wide. "Where are Brittany, Gustavo, and Kelly?"

"They're-"James wasn't able to finish as Gustavo charged into the room, shoving James and Carlos aside, causing them to go falling to the floor. Jo and Stephanie winced as Gustavo raced over and crushed the Jacksons in a hug.

"YOU WERE AWESOME!" He shouted as he rocked them back and forth. "AMAZING! COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY AMAZING!" Kelly walked in along with Brittany and laughed, not even trying to get Gustavo to put them down.

'Why is he being so nice?" Noah gasped as he was crushed against his brother. Sydney made a squeaking sound as Riley's head thwacked against his. "Owwww!"

"I think it's because he knows that a lot of people will be going to the guys' concerts for a while, since you guys are associated acts and everything." Katie replied and giggled when Patrick made a whining sound, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Gustavo put them down before they break." Ronan laughed. "They need their rest." Gustavo opened his arms and the five of them fell to the ground.

"Where did you go?" Julius asked Brittany as she handed him a towel form him to mop off his face before kissing his cheek. "I was looking for you."

"I was just sticking around to see what people had to say," she smiled teasingly as she brushed her blonde hair behind her shoulders, cocking an eyebrow. "A lot of young girls are saying how hot you were and how they wish that you would sing again. Do I have anything to worry about?"

"No, you don't." Julius smiled warmly and then looked over at his siblings, who nodded, despite how tired they were. He gave a shaky smiled and turned back to Brittany. "But I wanted to talk to you about that."

"Oh?" Brittany raised her other eyebrow, waiting for him to finish.

Julius smiled and took one of her hands in his. "We've been dating for a long time, and you certainly know me better than I know myself. Half the time I can think of something and you'll know what it is, even if it's bothering me. I love you with all my heart and now is probably the best time that I should do this." Brittany watched in confusion as Julius got down on one knee and fished a hand in his pocket. When he pulled out a small box and opened it to show a ring, Brittany's eyes got wide and she slapped her hands over her mouth. "Brittany, will you marry me?"

Camille, Stephanie, and Jo squealed again as the Jacksons waited, eyes wide with eager excitement. A few seconds went by as Brittany started to cry and Patrick broke the silence with a bad joke. "How funny would it be if she said no?" Katie and Noah, who were on his sides, elbowed him in the stomach. "Ow! I was just joking!"

"Wow," Brittany finally said as she brushed tears off of her cheeks. "I didn't think…I don't…" she nodded. "Yes, Julius, I'll marry you." Julius beamed and slid the ring on her finger before standing up and kissing her as their friends started to clap appreciatively.

"Now that all the excitement is out of the way, can we go home now?" Sydney asked tiredly. Everybody started to laugh and he pouted in annoyance. "What?" he demanded. "What's so funny?"

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. I enjoyed writing it. Yay, Julius and Brittany are now engaged, I really wanted that to happen and now it is. Anyways, the next chapter they're all going back to LA and the chapters have to do with Camille and I'm sure you guys are going to like it. It also has a lot of the other couples too. If you want to know what's going on with my story before the chapters are put up or if you want to talk to me, follow me on twitter. I'm Skater_Gurl11. Thanks! :)**

**Oh and These Walls and Still Frame are owned by Trapt, It's Been a Summer is owned by New Found Glory, and this version of Don't Stop Believing is from Glee. It's better to listen to the songs as you read the chapter.**

**-Riley**


	24. Big Time What?

**.:Chapter Twenty Four – Big Time What?:.**

**

* * *

**"Hey Camille, do you want to go see that new Batman movie?" Jo asked as she flipped through the magazine that she was reading, lying on her stomach on her bed. She, Stephanie, and Camille were in her apartment, trying to find something to do. They had gotten back from Australia two nights ago and were now re-adjusting to life back in LA.

"Camille?" Jo repeated when she realized that she didn't get an answer. She and Stephanie looked up and saw that Camille was sitting in a chair, smiling, as she was texting someone on her phone frantically.

"Camille!" Stephanie shouted, getting the girls attention.

"What?" Camille jumped and fumbled for her phone. "Sorry, what? I wasn't listening."

"We're aware," Jo replied as she brushed her blonde hair over her shoulder and got up from her stomach, swinging her legs around the bed. "Who are you texting?"

"No one," Camille replied as she moved her cell phone into her pocket and leaned back in the chair. "I wasn't texting anybody."

"Really?" Stephanie cocked an eyebrow; she didn't believe Camille for a second. The girl may be a good actress, but she was a horrible liar. "Because I think I know what texting looks like, and you were texting someone." She and Jo got up from the bed and slowly started to stalk over to their friend. "So…who were you texting."

"No one!" Camille replied and rolled her eyes. "Gosh, why are you guys giving me the third degree?"

"It's no reason, really." Jo replied as she narrowed her eyes, pushing her bracelets up her arm. "We were wondering if you wanted to go to a movie." She motioned to herself and Stephanie. "You know, because we're _bored_. We were going to call Riley and Rhuben and Katie to go too."

"Yeah sounds like," Camille stopped when her phone buzzed again. She quickly pulled her phone out from behind her back and looked at the text that she had just gotten. She snapped her phone shut and looked up with a tight smile. "A plan that I can't make." She waved her phone. "That was my agent, I have an audition to go to" She started to gather her stuff and head towards the door.

"What movie?" Jo asked as she and Stephanie slowly walked towards their friend. Camille started to back away, just as slowly as they were walking forward. Jo was completely suspicious of her friend now. She knew that something was up and was shocked that she would try to hide it from her. When Jo and Camille met, they had hit it off instantly and had started telling secrets to each other quickly.

And now Camille was trying to sneak out on Jo, but that was certainly _not_ going to happen.

"I don't know the name off of the top of my head." Camille replied with a nervously chuckle.

"It should be on your phone," Stephanie replied as she cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, about that," Camille glanced at her phone again and Jo took that opportunity to pounce on it.

"GIVE ME THE PHONE!" She shouted and dove towards Camille's hand at the same time Stephanie went to keep Camille from running. Camille let out a shriek and pulled her arm back, darting to the door as Stephanie and Jo crashed to each other before hitting the ground. Camille slipped out of the apartment and ran away as fast as she could.

"Well," Stephanie sighed as she rested her chin in her hands. "That didn't turn out well."

"You're telling me." Jo replied as she drummed her fingers on the floor, not bothering to get up. It didn't seem to bother Stephanie either, as she was also still lying on the floor. "Well," Jo sighed as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open, starting to text someone. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"You're going to text Kendall?" Stephanie asked as she looked over at her friend.

"Exactly," Jo replied and then sent the message. "And if he doesn't answer…I'm sure that he's around Riley somewhere, so they'll figure out something to help us."

"And what if they don't?" Stephanie questioned.

"Are you kidding? Riley and Rhuben have been planning for _years_ before they met Kendall, if anyone can find out anything about Camille, it's those two."

* * *

"That's wrong." Logan commented as he pointed into Rhuben's notebook. She made a sound of annoyance as he moved over and looked into Riley's notebook. "That's right." Riley laughed at her sister, causing Rhuben to stick her tongue out in reply.

"Well, it's not _my_ fault I hate math." Rhuben grumbled as she pushed her notebook and textbook away from her.

"No, buts it's your fault that you're bad at it." Riley teased in reply as she closed her laptop with a laugh of triumph and a grin. Logan laughed as he leaned back on the couch and smiled up towards the ceiling before giving his girlfriend a sympathetic look. It was Friday and that meant that the three of them were doing homework and were going to hang out later that night.

"Hahaha" Rhuben rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "Why am I doing this again?"

"Because the faster that you get this done the faster we can go and hang out," Logan replied as he tapped the notebook with each word, for emphasis. Riley snorted as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

"You mean the faster you get it done the faster you can go and make out." Riley teased. Logan smiled as he put an arm around Rhuben's shoulders.

"No one ever said that it was a _bad_ thing." He replied and smiled over at Rhuben, who rolled her eyes and lightly hit him in the stomach. "Ouch." He frowned a little and gently grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.

"You guys are so cute it's just so funny." Riley commented in deadpan as an odd look crossed her face and sat up on the couch, crossing her legs underneath her. "That's weird" she muttered under her breath as she scrolled through a text.

"What's up?" Rhuben asked as she held out her hand to take Riley's phone. Riley slapped it into her hand and then relayed the information to Logan.

"Something's up with Camille and Jo and Stephanie want Rhu and me to find out what it is." She replied and then stretched her arms. "Sounds fun, I was bored watching you guys make kissy faces anyway."

"Yeah, well, at least we're more attractive than you and Kendall." Rhuben replied carelessly as she gave her sister he cell phone back. She snorted. "I mean, have you _seen_ his eyebrows." Logan and Riley burst out laughing.

"What's up?" Patrick asked as he, Noah, and Sydney walked into the room. He took a running start and jumped into Rhuben's lap, causing her to grunt in pain before shifting her weight before allowing Patrick to sit in her lap comfortably. "We're bored."

"Well that's good," Riley grinned evilly. "Because Rhu and I have a mission for you guys."

"I'm listening." Sydney replied as he smiled, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "What have you got for us?"

"Something's up with Camille and Jo and Stephanie want us to find out," Rhuben replied as she moved Patrick to her knees, making sure her lap didn't get crushed completely. "And what we want you guys to do is follow her around first," she motioned to herself and Riley. "And then we'll use our modes of expertise later."

"Can we wear all black?" Noah questioned after a second of thinking. Riley made a face.

"It's 80 degrees out." She pointed out and then rolled her eyes as her brothers pouted. "Fine, just make sure that its shorts, I don't want you to get dehydrated and overheated." She smiled and shook her head as the three boys hurried out of the room and up the stairs. "They're so easy to please." She muttered as she rubbed her forehead. She then looked over at Logan. "Sorry Logie, I know that you were looking forward to our bff night."

"Well," Logan rubbed his chin. "I've been wondering what has been going on with Camille for a while anyway," he smiled. "And who says that we can't do this as friends? Remember the last time we did this? When we thought that Old Ms. Jenkins had murdered her husband-"

"And we staked out her house for days?" Rhuben jumped in, already laughing. "Making sure that her husband was really dead and that she was a murderer-"

"And we wore all black and ninja rolled around like idiots for two weeks just because we had misunderstood that her husband was on a trip?" Riley concluded, already tearing up from laughing so hard. "Yeah, that was funny."

Logan smiled and laughed along with them, ever since they had gotten back to Australia Riley and Rhuben (and their brothers) had turned back to the way that he remembered them, happy and always having fun. Sure, every now and then Riley continued to be bossy and quick to anger, and sure every now and then Rhuben would close him off and become cool about something. But he had his best friends back and that was something that he had been looking forward to for such a long time that he didn't really care.

And now, even though Rhuben was his girlfriend again, Riley was still his best friend and he tried to make sure that he spent enough time with her so she wouldn't get jealous of the fact that he and Rhuben were together all the time.

He thought about something and stopped laughing as he raised a finger, getting the two girls' attention. "But, if we get caught, I'm not taking the blame." He warned.

"Typical Logie," Rhuben sighed as she rolled her eyes towards her sister.

"Yeah, once someone is about to get caught for doing something that's morally wrong, he'll bow out." Riley added as she stood up and started to stretch her arms.

"Hey, I just like to play it safe." Logan defended himself as he bent down to pull on his shoes. "There's no problem with that." He nodded as if to justify himself.

"Not unless you're a wimp," Riley replied with a teasing smile, that Logan missed as he was still tying his shoes. "I'm going to get my shoes." She started to walk out of the room and gave thumbs up to let Rhuben know that she heard her sister's request of getting her shoes too.

"Are we alone?" Logan asked as he sat up and looked around. "Finally." He smiled and put an arm around Rhuben's shoulders again and leaned forward, kissing her as he pressed her into the couch. Rhuben smiled and kissed him back, running her fingers through his hair as she did so.

Unbeknownst to the happy couple, Ronan wandered into the room, wondering how the homework was going, and stopped walking, raising an eyebrow when he saw the two of them making out on the couch. He smiled to himself and quietly walked over to the two of them, standing above them, before clearing his throat loudly. Logan quickly moved to the end of the couch, as far away from Rhuben as possible as he wiped off his lips with the back of his hand.

"We were just doing homework, sir." He stammered as he started to gather his books together.

"Right, I'm _sure_ that's what you were doing." Ronan replied and tried to keep a straight face before bursting out into laughter. Rhuben chuckled a little bit as she shook her head.

"You _love_ to do that, don't you?" she questioned.

"Yes, yes I do." Ronan replied and reached out, purposely messing up Rhuben's hair before moving over to Logan, who looked like he was getting ready to make a break for the door. "I really don't care if you or Kendall come over," he explained. "As long as you don't start making any babies that is."

"Wow," Rhuben raised an eyebrow and made a face. "You really got a hang of that _dad _thing didn't ya?"

"Yep." Ronan smiled proudly, causing Rhuben to smile along with him.

"Because _that's_ wasn't an awkward moment to walk into at all." Riley commented as she walked into the living room, holding out a pair of flip flops for Rhuben to take. She had her ear pressed against her shoulder, her cell phone in between the two. She said something into the phone and snapped it shut before sliding it into her jeans pockets. "Ok, we're meeting everyone at the Palm Woods while Patrick, Noah, and Sydney follow Camille."

"Two questions," Ronan spoke up as he raised a finger. "One, are you going to be down at the studio later?" he held up a second finger. "And two, is there a chance that you could go to jail for this?"

"Yes," Riley nodded and then thought for a second before turning to Rhuben who had the same expressions on her face as she was thinking of an answer.

"The only way that we could be sent to jail," she stated slowly. "Is if some people don't recognize us and think that we're a bunch of stalkers." She waved her hand. "Either way we'll call you if it happens."

"Good to know," Ronan replied as he raised an eyebrow but didn't question her. "Have fun."

"Bye daddy."

Rhuben grabbed her car keys and the three of them left the house and got into her car to drive to the Palm Woods, singing songs on the radio all the way there. As soon as they had made it to the Palm Woods and stepped inside the building, Jo and Stephanie had grabbed them and ushered them to the Palm Woods pool, where everybody else had already gathered.

"So, what new do you have for us?" Riley questioned as she sat down by Kendall, smiling as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Ok, so what we know so far is that Camille had been answering a lot of texts lately, and note telling us who it is." Stephanie replied.

"What's the problem with that?" Carlos asked as he shrugged.

"You're a guy, you wouldn't see a problem with that," Jo replied as she shook her head. "Girls don't hide who they text from each other." She explained calmly. "We tell each other everything, which is why this is so weird." She jabbed her index finger onto the table they were sitting around. "Camille has been bringing her phone everywhere she goes and she locks it whenever we're not around, when usually we would be able to read what each other say."

"So what you're saying is that you girls read each other's texts?" James questioned, looking a little horrified. "Like, even what we send you?"

"That's right, Sugar Lips." Stephanie replied as she, Rhuben, and Riley smirked, causing James and Jo to blush.

"Anyway," Kendall brought the attention away from his embarrassed friends. "We're going to need a little more information here."

"Well, Jo and I were planning on going to a movie and we wanted to know if Camille wanted to go," Stephanie leaned back in her chair and absentmindedly twirled her hair around her finger. "But she was busy texting someone, so when we got her attention we asked again if she wanted to go. At first she started to agree and then she got another text, said she couldn't go, and darted out of the room before we could grab her."

"What was her excuse?" Logan asked as he crossed a leg over the other, his face contorted into a look of thought.

"That she had an audition to go to but didn't know which movie it was." Jo replied.

"That's really weird," Kendall pointed out. "Because any movie that Camille auditions for, she knows anything and everything there is to know before she even auditions." He looked a little scared. "Then something definitely is up with her."

"And that's what we were trying to tell you." Jo replied as she shook her head. "We just have to find out."

"Well, Katie is already out with the guys, following her," Kendall replied as he ran his fingers through his hair. "So we just have to wait for them to get back and then we can figure out a plan."

"What are they doing right now?" Stephanie asked.

"Following her like moths to a flame." Riley replied and looked around. "I'm getting a little thirsty, anyone want a smoothie while I'm up?"

"I'll take one, thanks." James replied with a warm smile. Riley nodded and walked off to get the drinks as everyone else started to chat about nothing, waiting for the guys and Katie to call.

"Kendall, why didn't you offer to get the drinks for her?" Jo questioned casually as she leaned against James' shoulder. Kendall looked confused and innocent as he sat up straight in his chair.

"I didn't know that I was supposed to." He replied and stuck his tongue out at Jo, who did the same.

"So much like a guy," Stephanie commented as she shook her head slowly. "Always making the girl do everything."

"You're being sexist." Carlos pointed out, frowning.

"So?" Stephanie replied with a shrug, not really caring. "It's worse if a guy is sexist."

"Really?"

"Yeah"

"Oooh"

* * *

"Ow, Patrick, get off my foot!" Sydney whined and shoved his brother, who swung his arms, trying to regain his balance and quickly grabbed onto a pole beside him. He smiled sheepishly when Patrick whipped his head around, glaring over at his baby brother. "Sorry."

"Will you guys be quiet?" Katie hissed, popping her head up from behind a bush, adjusting her tree hat. "If you continue to be this loud, Camille will catch us before we even get that far." She shook her head and muttered something about boys under her breath before the four of them ducked back down behind a bush and brushed leaves and branches aside to see what Camille was doing.

The four of them had tracked her all the way from the Palm Woods to the mall and now she was sitting outside of it on a bench, eating ice cream and waiting for someone. It was that obvious as she was constantly checking her watch and crossing and re-crossing her legs.

"What is she waiting for?" Patrick hissed as he rubbed his stomach. "I'm getting hungry and these branches are messing up my hair."

"God forbid that your hair gets messed up," Noah muttered in reply, rolling his eyes. Beside, Katie giggled, causing him to blush and beam with happiness. The two hadn't gone out on a date yet, but they had been spending a lot of time together. They're so comfortable around each other; even Patrick couldn't deny that they were cute together.

"Wait, I think I see someone going over to her." Sydney whispered and started to dip back and forth, not being able to see. "Pat," he nudged his brother. "Let me get on your shoulders."

"Fine," Patrick grumbled and kneeled down even further, but your big head better not make it hard for you to stay up there."

"Be careful," Noah whispered to his baby brother. "He might accidentally on purpose throw you off of his back." He took a step back, makings sure that he didn't get hit by Sydney when he climbed up.

Sydney giggled quietly and climbed onto Patrick's shoulders and Patrick slowly stood up, makings sure that he wasn't that bent over and that Sydney wasn't able to be seen by Camille. Sydney peered over the top of the bush and watched as Camille threw away her ice cream dish and turned and waved towards someone that was walking over to her.

"Who is it?" Katie asked as she tried to closer to see, Noah had a light grip on the back of her shirt, just in case she fell over. "I can't see!"

"Patrick, your hair is in the way," Sydney replied and then his nose started to twitch as Patrick's hair tickled his nose. "Oh no," he started to gasp for hair, holding a hand over his nose as his eyes started to water. "Ah, ah, ah chooo!" Sydney sneezed at the same time that he had caught a glimpse of someone grabbing onto Camille and giving her a hug before kissing her.

Patrick and Sydney went tumbling to the ground and Katie and Noah dove to the ground after them, makings sure that they hadn't been seen. Noah peered back through the bushes and groaned when he saw that Camille and whoever the guy was had walked away.

"Did you _have_ to sneeze?" Patrick demanded, his eyes flashing in annoyance.

"Does your hair _have_ to be so big?" Sydney retorted as he sneezed again, rubbing his nose. "But before we fell I _did_ see some dude kiss Camille." He pouted. "I couldn't tell who it was though."

"That's alright, we got some answers." Katie replied and patted her friend on the shoulder. "Now all we have to do is go and tell Kendall and the others." She pulled her tree hat off of her head and ran her fingers through her hair. "And everything else can get rolling.

"Can we get some ice cream first?" Sydney asked as he pointed over to the ice cream stand that Camille had been at before.

"Sure, it's on me." Noah replied as he stood up and brushed off his pants before holding his hand out to Katie, gently putting her to her feet. "Yours too." He added and smirked a little. "Because I'm a gentleman."

"Sure you are," Katie replied as she rolled her eyes, still holding onto his hand as they walked over to the ice cream stand. Noah looked hurt and Katie nudged him with her shoulder. "I was joking."

"I know." Noah replied and kissed her cheek.

"Could you two hold off on that?" Patrick asked in a joking tone. "I want to get my ice cream cone down before I throw it up." Noah rolled his eyes and lightly hit his brother on the back of the head, laughing along with him.

The four of them got their ice cream and then headed back over to the Palm Woods by cab (Patrick used a credit card he stole off of Ronan) and they relayed the news of what they saw to their friends.

"So that's it!" Jo declared, stabbing the air with her finger. "She has a secret boyfriend!"

"How do you know for sure that it was her boyfriend?" Carlos asked skeptically.

"I think I know when two people are kissing, thank you." Sydney replied and wrinkled his nose. "No matter how _yucky_ it is." He replied and stuck out his tongue. Rhuben snorted.

"Trust me, you'll get over that phase." She commented and poked him in his dimples. "When you get older, you're going to have a _lot_ of girls chasing after you."

"That's good to know." Sydney replied in a dismissive tone. "Anyway, I'm sure. She has a secret boyfriend, now the only problem that we have is to figure out who it is." He added. There was a moment of silence and Riley and Kendall suddenly sat up, eyes lit up with excitement.

"I've got a plan!" They stated in unison.

"How do you do that?" James questioned as he looked back and forth between the two of them, amazed. "I mean, really, that's like the fifth time I've seen the two of you do that." Kendall grinned and took Riley's smoothie out of her hand, taking a sip.

"That doesn't matter, come on we have to wait for 10 o'clock and then get dressed." Riley replied as she jumped up from her chair.

"Why 10?" Katie questioned as she wrinkled her eyebrows.

"Because that's the time that she normally sneaks out," Jo replied. "And now we know why."

"Uh, Jo, I don't really like the look on your face." James stated as he slowly pushed his chair backwards. Jo dropped her smile and looked over at her boyfriend. "What?" he questioned and then slowly started to get scared. "Why are you looking at me like that? You're not going to break up with me are you? Not because I'm prettier than you!"

"Oooh" his friends winced, knowing that what he had just said was probably the dumbest thing that he had ever said.

* * *

Kendall poked his head around the corner of the Palm Woods lobby, making sure that Bitters wasn't at his desk and then reached forward, ninja rolling across the floor. He pressed himself up against the manager's desk and looked around before waving a hand.

"What are you doing?" Logan questioned as he, James, and Carlos walked over to their friend.

"You have to admit, sneaking around the Palm Woods lobby dressed all in black and with this music," he pulled a small boom box out from behind Bitters' desk. "It makes you want to pretend to be a secret agent."

"Ooh, let me try!" Carlos cried as he jumped up and down in excitement. Before any of his friends could stop him, he did a somersault and crashed into the side of Bitters' desk so hard it caused a loud crashing sound. "Ow!" he pouted, upside down. "For some reason, this wasn't as much fun as Kendall made it out to be."

"Shhh!" Stephanie's hiss came from the other side of the lobby, where the girls were hiding in the bushes. Big Time Rush hurried behind the manager's desk and looked around. Patrick, Noah, Katie, and Sydney were sitting behind chairs, holding onto a giant net. (Don't ask where they got it.)

As soon as the clock struck ten the doors to the Palm Woods opened and two figures quietly and silently moved through the front doors. Everybody instantly recognized Camille, but they still couldn't figure out who was with her. Sydney waited until he saw Riley's hand signal before he, Patrick, Noah, and Katie leapt out from behind the manager's desk, throwing the net on top of Camille and the other person.

"What?" Camille shrieked as Big Time Rush hurried over, Riley and Rhuben turned on the lights, and Jo and Stephanie tugged on a rope that they had strung across the floor, causing the two of them to fall. "What is this?"

"We'll be asking the questions here." Jo declared as Camille rolled over to look up at her friends.

"What are you guys doing?" she demanded.

"Stop asking questions!" Patrick snapped back in reply.

"Patrick!" Riley snapped.

"What?" Patrick replied, annoyed.

"Riley!" Kendall said.

"What?" Riley replied.

"Guys!" Rhuben cried, trying to get their attention.

"What?" Riley, Patrick, and Kendall returned.

"Camille!"

"What?"

"Carlos!" Carlos cried cheerfully as he threw his hands into the air.

"Carlos!" Stephanie, Jo, James, Logan, Noah, Sydney, and Katie cried.

"What?"

"Guys!" Camille whined.

"Camille!" Jo and Stephanie snapped, gesturing towards the guy that was next to her.

"What?" Camille replied, annoyed. Rhuben looked over at Logan, as if she was annoyed of all of the insanity and he looked back at her, confused.

"What?" Logan questioned.

"What?" James questioned as he looked at his friend.

"What?" Jo wrinkled his nose, thinking that he was talking to her.

"What?" Patrick asked, always confused as ever.

"What?" Noah turned to him.

"What?" Sydney's eyebrows rose.

"What?" Carlos scratched his forehead.

"What?" Kendall looked at Riley.

"What?" Riley questioned, wondering why he was looking at her.

"What?" Rhuben replied to Logan.

"What?" Katie questioned Patrick and Noah.

"What?" Stephanie asked her boyfriend.

"GUYS!" Camille shouted.

"WHAT?" They all screamed, turning back to her. They all stopped and stared when they saw Wayne Wayne standing next to her, looking nervous as he raised a hand in a short wave.

"Guys," Camille gave a nervous smile and put her arm around WayneWayne's waist. "I know that you've all been wondering what I've been hiding from you guys and I might as well tell you now…" she trailed off as she looked over at her friends. "I'm dating Wally."

"WHAT?"

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was kind of short and it mostly had dialogue…bleh. I just wanted to put up a funny chapter for you guys, all the other chapters are going to be like this, and build up towards the sequel at the same time. So I hope you enjoy it. Julius, Brittany, Mrs. Knight, Ronan, Gustavo, and Kelly are going to be in the next chapter as well as BTR, DE, and the BTR Girls.**


	25. Big Time Radio Show?

**.:Chapter Twenty Five – Big Time Radio Show?:.**

**

* * *

**"Big Time Rush…is going to be on the radio" Gustavo said to the four boys that were sitting in front of him. James was the first one to react and it wasn't in a way that Gustavo had expected; he snorted loudly and rolled his eyes.

"What the point?" James questioned as he looked at his nails. "No one can see my handsome face on the radio." He shook his head and rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath that had to do with people discriminating against those with great faces.

"Anyway," Kendall slowly rolled his head back to his music producer. "What are we going to be doing on this radio show?"

"Well, that's the best thing," Gustavo gave a hint of a smile. "You're going to be answering questions and then you're going to be doing a mini radio show yourselves. And if that kicks off, then you're going to be doing a mini radio show every Friday to boost your popularity."

"One of the Kardashians," Kelly started to snap her fingers. "I don't remember who it is right now, but she does a radio show and she gets a lot of listeners each time and she got famous by doing nothing." She started to smile and nod. "But since you guys are getting even more famous as the day goes on, the radio show will be a hit."

"So what you want us to do is prepare ourselves for whatever questions they ask us," Logan stated slowly, as if he was making sure that he was getting the point. "_And_ you want us to think up ideas of a radio show segment we could potentially do."

"Exactly." Gustavo replied with a nod.

"Cool," Kendall smiled. "Sounds fun."

"Have you realized that we've _never_ done a radio interview before?"Logan questioned as he raised an eyebrow.

"I have to agree with Logie on this one," Carlos added as he shook his head, his helmet straps hitting his face. "What if we do something embarrassing on air?"

"With the four of us doing this together, we'll think of something. Trust me," Kendall replied and smiled warmly at his friends as they looked at him skeptically. "I mean, how hard could it be?"

* * *

"So what you're saying is that you want us to help you guys stage a fake radio interview so you can practice before you go on the radio later this week?" Rhuben questioned as she turned the nozzle of the hose that she was holding in her hand so the water would stop pouring out. "Is that pretty much it?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Logan replied as he shoved his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. "So will you guys do it?"

"Hmm," Rhuben twisted her mouth to the side as she turned and walked across the grass, dragging the hose behind her. She and her family were outside the house, watering the garden, mowing the lawn, weed whacking the lawn, and washing their cars as they had been doing when Big Time Rush and their friends, Gustavo, Kelly, and Mrs. Knight had arrived at the house.

"Please?" Logan pleaded as he stuck out his lower lip in a pout. Rhuben raised an eyebrow as she looked over at her boyfriend.

"You've been hanging around Carlos too long." She commented.

"I was thinking the same thing," Noah added as he gently set a bucket of water on the ground and pulled a rag out, wringing the water back into the bucket. "Have any of you noticed that since you've been around each other for so long that you pick up each other's mannerisms?"

"Yeah, like, Katie makes the same facial expressions that Kendall does," Jo commented as she kicked off her flip-flops and pulled the brim of her cap lower on her forehead to shield her face from the sun. "It's actually pretty funny."

"Can we get back the point please?" James demanded as he slathered on massive amounts of sun screen. "The radio show, are you going to help or not?"

"I thought that you didn't want to do the radio show." Stephanie looked confused as she and Carlos joined Camille and WayneWayne where they sat on the porch swing, gently pushing themselves back and forth as they tried to stay out of the sun.

"They're doing a radio show?" Ronan questioned as he turned to Gustavo, Kelly, and Mrs. Knight. "When did this happen?"

"A few hours ago, apparently," Mrs. Knight replied as she fanned herself with her hand, beads of sweat already rolling down her cheeks. "They just came bursting into the office, nearly scaring me and Katie to death, screaming something about being able to do a radio show and having to come over here."

"What they have to do is they are going to be asked questions about their lives and stuff," Kelly explained, adjusting her large sunhat. "And then they have to come up with a proposal for their own radio show that they could possibly do."

"Yes, it was my idea," Gustavo jumped into the conversation, poking himself in the chest with his thumb. "My _brilliant _idea."

"I don't doubt that." Ronan replied in a tone that no one was sure if he was joking or not. He clicked his tongue as he looked at the car cleaning kit in his hand and then over at Julius and Brittany, who were helping Sydney power wash the outside of the house. "Hey," he called to get their attention. "Do you mind watching these guys while I go in to get some lemonade or something?"

"No problem, Ronan." Brittany replied with a bright smile. That smile hadn't left her face ever since Julius proposed to her. "We'd be happy to."

"We would?" Julius replied as he raised an eyebrow. He laughed when he saw the offended look on Sydney's face. "I was joking, Little Man."

"Making sure." Sydney replied with a smirk.

"Alright," Gustavo clapped his hands together and then glared over at the four boys. "But you monkey dogs better get to work, you don't have much time and it's my name that's riding on the line." He stated as he followed Ronan, Kelly, and Mrs. Knight into the house.

"Gustavo's right," WayneWayne spoke up as he took off his sunglasses and rubbed sweat off of his nose. "You're going to need to practice for a while, being on the radio isn't as easy as you would think."

"Yeah, thanks for the advice," Kendall replied coolly as he rolled his eyes. "We'll keep that in mind."

"Just trying to help Kendor-" WayneWayne paused and looked over at Camille, who stared back at him. He gave a sigh and a soft smile before turning back to Kendall. "Just trying to help, dude." He replied.

"Whatever." Kendall muttered under his breath and walked over to Riley, who was washing her car with the help of Patrick. "Hey Ruby." He greeted her.

"Hey," Riley replied and caught a sponge that Patrick threw at her, aiming to hit her in the back of the head. "Nice try." She stated and threw it back into his chest, causing a wet 'smack' sound to emit from the impact. Patrick just smiled in reply and walked over to talk to Noah and Katie. She turned back to Kendall. "Still having trouble getting used to Camille and WayneWayne?" she questioned.

"Is it that obvious?" Kendall replied as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Pretty much," Riley replied. "Then again, you're not one to hide your emotions. But," she studied him before continuing. "It's Camille's choice who she dates, and if she picked WayneWayne to date, then he's changed."

"What makes you say that?" Kendall scoffed.

"I have a good judge of people," Riley replied as she turned to look at him, squinting to keep the sun out of her eyes.

"Your proof?"

"I'm dating you aren't I?" Riley replied and gave a teasing smile as she walked around her boyfriend, who had a dumbstruck look on his face and then gathered her brothers and sister around. "I'm thinking that we try to make this as creative as possible."

"In other words you want to do something that will make _you_ laugh, and possibly embarrass your friends?" Brittany spoke up, looking around at Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney.

"You're catching on," Rhuben replied as she smiled and tapped her forehead. "I'm thinking the water hose could prove to be useful." She added slowly.

"Whatever," Julius held up his hands and moved to sit on the porch. "All I'm doing is watching to make sure that you don't do anything stupid. Other than that, have a ball."

"Nice to know that you care," Patrick replied sarcastically and went to grab the bucket of water.

The Jacksons hurried in and out of the garage as they pulled out a large table and a couple of chairs that the guys would be sitting in, as if it was a panel rather than a radio interview. The Jackson stood at the other side of the table, hands behind their backs, and WayneWayne, Camille, Stephanie, Jo, Katie, Brittany, and Julius were standing nearby, watching. Katie could tell from the look on the Jacksons' face that they were up to something, but wasn't quite sure what it could be.

"First question," Sydney took a small step forward, looking each of the four boys in the eye. "Your name is Big Time Rush, right? How'd you get the name?"

"Well, what happened was that we were feeling pretty down after we first moved to LA and were getting run into the ground by Gustavo." Kendall replied, speaking up first. "And we were contemplating on whether or not to go back home to be a hockey team again. And as we were feeling pretty down I was trying to cheer my friends up with a speech that used a lot of different hockey terms, and Big Time Rush was one of them. So we decided to stay, use that term as our band name and as our first single and here we are." He smiled and rested his hands on the table.

"Wrong!" Sydney replied and pulled a wet sponge out from behind his back and threw it at Kendall, hitting him in the chest.

"What the?" Kendall spurted as he grabbed onto the sponge before it hit his lap Katie burst out laughing and Jo, Camille, and Stephanie tried to hold their hands over their mouths so they wouldn't burst out laughing as well.

"Carlos, second question" Noah spoke up before Kendall could ask what they were doing, walking over to the helmet clad boy. "What do you think your biggest musical influence is?"

"Uh," Carlos bit his nails as he tried to think. "I don't know; I like a lot of music, a lot of musicals actually. I like RENT and Les Misearbles and-"

"Wrong!" Noah interrupted and whipped a hose out from behind his back, spraying Carlos in the face.

"James, next question." Riley spoke up, an evil glint in her eye. "What would you say is your favorite thing about yourself?" she grinned as James started to stammer and ramble, not actually answering the question. "Wrong!"

"Not the face!" James screeched and covered his face with his hands. Riley obliged and sprayed him in the chest with water.

"Don't hurt me!" Logan added as Patrick turned to face him. On the sidelines, WayneWayne, Julius, Brittany, and the girls were rolling around with laughter.

"Now, do you guys understand why we sprayed you with water?" Rhuben asked as she slowly tightened and loosened her grip on the bucket of water that she was holding. She waited for one of them to answer her question.

"No, not at all." Carlos replied as he took his helmet off of his head and rubbed some water droplets off the front. "But it was very helpful because it's really hot out here."

"Well, we weren't doing it just so you could cool down." Rhuben replied as she frowned. "Come on guys, think, each of your answers had something in common." She made a face and looked over at Logan. "Even _you_ can't think of the answer?"

"I'm concentrating on not drowning over here," Logan replied, still cowering in fear.

"Your guys' answers had one key element that was the same," WayneWayne spoke up as he got up from the porch and walked over to them. "The fact that the answers were too long." He looked over at the Jacksons, who nodded. "If you keep giving out long answers, then you're just going to bore your audience."

"So what you guys were doing was spraying them with water to show that you were 'bored'?" Camille used the word with air quotes around them.

"Exactly," Sydney nodded and giggled a little. "Plus, we were bored and we wanted to entertain ourselves somehow." He turned to WayneWayne. "But he has it right on the money."

"That's not the only thing that he has." Kendall muttered.

"Ok," WayneWayne turned and glared at the boy as he walked over to them. "I know that you have something to say because as soon as you found out that Camille and I were dating you've been making snide comments under your breath as if I can't hear you. So you might as well say them out loud now."

"Wally, don't worry about it." Camille stated gently as she placed a hand on her boyfriend's arm.

"No, he's calling me out on it, so I might as well answer." Kendall replied and pushed his chair back, walking out from behind the table to stand right in front of the boys that was dressed in gangster clothes, even though it was about 90 degrees outside. "I don't like you and we all know that." He motioned to him and his friends. "And I'm going to _try_ and forget that because you're dating one of my friends." He looked over at Camille, who had her arms crossed over her chest and was looking worried.

"So?" WayneWayne challenged, taking a step closer.

"Kendall, knock it off, man." James stated as he shook his head.

"What's he going to do?" Jo whispered as she moved over to her boyfriend and leaned into his side, wrapping an arm around his waist. "I don't think I've ever seen him this mad."

"No he can get even madder," James murmured in reply. "Usually whenever someone mentions his family or friends in a negative way, or if they just mention his dad." He took a deep breath. "Just hope that WayneWayne doesn't provoke him even more.

Standing across from her brother, Katie was thinking pretty much the same thing. She could tell that the only reason that Kendall was being confrontational to WayneWayne was because he didn't want o see Camille get hurt, and because he didn't fully trust WayneWayne yet. But when it all came down to it, Camille could choose whoever she wanted and Kendall was being too much of an overprotective friend.

"Kendall, calm down." She stated loudly, shaking her head. "You're getting mad over absolutely nothing."

"This is the guy that wanted to kick _me _out of the band and made fun of my friends,' Kendall replied and briefly looked away from WayneWayne before turning back to him, glaring. "And I'm not going to stand aside and watch as he dates Camille and worry that he's not doing anything to hurt her."

"Wow, sounds like some sort of teenage drama." Julius sighed as he wiped his hands off on his shorts before grabbing Brittany's hand. "Let's go inside and get something to drink."

"Are you sure you don't want to get out of here just so we can have some time alone?" Brittany asked with a knowing smile as she allowed herself to be led into the house.

"That too," Julius replied and gave her a sweet kiss before the two disappeared inside.

Patrick smiled as he shook his head, turning his attention back to the two guys that were standing nose to nose. He was happy for his brother and was even happier that he might be getting a new sister soon, but sometimes they took their relationship a little too far.

"Listen," WayneWayne sighed and rubbed his forehead before turning back to Kendall, and to James', Logan's, and Carlos' surprise, he actually looked human. "I was the one that wouldn't let Camille let you guys know that I was dating her, because I knew that you guys wouldn't be too thrilled when you first found out."

"That's the understatement of the year," Carlos commented and let out a small 'ow' as Stephanie elbowed him in the side. "What did I say?"

"But because you're now putting this out in the open, I'm _not_ going to hurt Camille," his lip twitched. "So I guess we have nothing to worry about."

"I guess not," Kendall replied and took a step back before walking by Rhuben, grabbing onto the bucket of water that Rhuben was holding. "But that doesn't mean that I can't do this." He turned around and chucked the bucket of water at WayneWayne, soaking him in seconds. "You know, for the time that you framed us for destroying Gustavo's office."

"No, I understand." WayneWayne replied as he pulled off his shades and wrung out his shirt. "I understand perfectly. But this," he took the hose from Noah and aimed it towards Kendall. "Is just because I can." He sprayed the water and Kendall danced out of the way, effectively hitting James and Jo with the spray of water.

"Hey!" Jo cried, sputtering as she tried to keep herself from getting hit by water. WayneWayne stared as he slowly lowered the hose that was in his hands as everyone else burst out laughing. "Oh, I'm sorry, I…" he pointed a finger at Kendall. "I was trying to hit Kendall."

"Yeah, well, you didn't." Jo pushed James aside and grabbed a sponge and threw it at WayneWayne, hitting Katie in the face.

"Hey!"

"Oops."

"Water fight!" Sydney shouted before grabbing a wet rag and throwing it towards Riley, hitting her in the face. Everything broke loose from there, water was being splashed around, rags and sponges were flying through the air and the hysterical laughter and screams from the group of friends accompanied the sound.

"What's going on?" Kelly called as she ran outside along with Ronan, Gustavo, and Mrs. Knight. She shrieked and blocked her face with the clipboard that she always carried around.

"Guys" Ronan called, trying to get his kids attention.

"DOGS! STOP!" Gustavo shouted. A rogue sponge came flying towards him and hit him in the face, causing everyone to gasp loudly and stop what they were doing; staring eyes and mouths open wide. "_Who threw that_?" he asked dangerously. Kendall, Logan, and James pointed at Logan as they took a large step away from the helmet clad boy, who looked at his music producer sheepishly. "CARLOS!"

Carlos let out a scream as Gustavo grabbed a bucket full of water and started to chase him around the yard.

* * *

"So how'd it go?" Mrs. Knight asked when the four boys walked out of the radio studio the next day. She, Gustavo, Kelly, and Katie were waiting as the guys did their interview and did a sample of the radio show that they wanted to pitch.

"The radio guys liked it." Kendall replied with a smile.

"Something about how he liked how we had chemistry together." James added as he shrugged, pretending not to know what they were talking about.

"And that because we showed obvious signs of chemistry that it would make for some good moments on the air." Carlos replied in a blasé way as he waved his hand, as if it was nothing.

"We're getting our own radio show." Logan added and the four boys started to hoot and holler as they jumped up and down and gave each other high fives.

"Alright!" Gustavo punched the air. "Big Time Rush on the radio!" he held his hands up in a shape of a picture frame and moved it around the guys, who were staring back at him. "This rise to fame and stardom is going perfectly."

"What's your radio show actually going to be about, guys?' Kelly asked as she moved away from her boss, who was pretending that he was giving out autographs and just received a Grammy.

"Well, Kendall came up with the idea, actually," Logan replied. "After he told the story of how we decided to stay in LA to pursue the band. We're going to be answering calls from pre-pubescent and adolescent teens giving them advice on friends and relationships and stuff."

"Because we're such great friends that we would give advice to each other to help each other out." Kendall added. "We're calling it Big Brother, because we know that there are people out there that don't have anyone to talk to."

"Yeah, cause that wasn't cheesy."Katie commented, rolling her eyes, although she was smiling.

"_I_ wanted to call it PurplePJs." Carlos replied as he crossed his arms over his chest, lightly kicking at the ground.

"Why PurplePJ?" Gustavo questioned after a second of silence.

"Because I like the color purple and Pajamas are comfy." Carlos replied as if it was obvious.

"And _that's_ why we didn't name it that." James replied.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this was a shorter chapter, I liked it anyway, I tried to put a little bit of everyone in there. Alright guys, I hope you liked this chapter too, it really made me laugh and smiled. I made it that Camille is the only one that would call WayneWayne Wally, as it shows how close they are. Umm, I think that adding WayneWayne to the group would be a funny touch and interesting touch so we'll see how that goes. **

**Anyway, the big news, the trilogy that I am writing right now; Big Time Rivalry, Don't Stop Believing, and the sequel Here and Now' is under the series name 'With Friends Like These'. So With Friends Like These is the title of the trilogy and each story is the subtitle of them. For example; With Friends Like These #1: Big Time Rivalry. I hope you guys like the idea. I'll change the titles once I put up the third story, not much longer.**

**Thanks for the wait as college can get in the way of updating. I hope you guys are still enjoying the story and will continue reading whatever we put up. Next chapter will be up soon, don't forget to follow us on twitter, the links are on our profile.**

**Thanks**

**-Riley**

**PS – PurplePjs is an advice giving website that I go to and it's actually really helpful. You should go.**


	26. Big Time Movie Making

**.:Chapter Twenty Six – Big Time Movie Making:.**

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* * *

**"Stephanie, you've got some mail." Mr. King stated from where he was sitting at the kitchen table, moving through envelopes. Stephanie put down her bowl of cereal and walked over to her dad, grabbing the envelope from his hand, looking it over. "I think it's from that film festival that you entered." He added.

This caused Stephanie's eyes to widen with excitement and she hurried to rip open the envelope, resulting in her completely tearing the envelope in half in her haste. She grabbed the paper that was inside and flipped it open, her eyes moving back and forth across the paper before she started to jump up and down in excitement.

"Dad! Dad! I won the film festival with my movie about the Palm Woods ghost!" Stephanie cried, still jumping up and down.

"You did?" Mr. King smiled warmly. "Congratulations." He reached out for the paper. "Here, let me read." He took the paper from his daughter, who continued to dance around, and read it over himself. "You _did_! And it says here that because you won, you got a cash prize of…a thousand dollars!"

"No way!" Stephanie stopped dancing and grabbed the sheet of paper again, re-reading and re-reading it. "You're right! I can't believe this is happening!" She kissed her father on the cheek and rushed to her room to get her shoes and video camera. "I have to go tell the guys the good news, I'll see you later, daddy!"

"Bye Stephanie." Mr. King replied, chuckling at his daughter's enthusiasm as she rushed out of the apartment. "Have a great day, sweetie."

Stephanie beamed as she ran out of her apartment, through the Palm Woods lobby (ignoring Bitters who was yelling at her not to run) and all the way to Rocque Records. She wanted to tell her friends what was going on, but wanted Carlos to be the first one that she told.

"Carlos….Carlos!" Stephanie raced through Rocque Records until she found her boyfriend taking a break in the recording booth. He had just put down his headphones and sat down on the couch when Stephanie ran into the room and threw herself into Carlos' arms.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Gustavo shouted from behind the glass, wondering who had just ran into the recording studio and was messing up their schedule.

"Hey Steph," Carlos greeted with a laugh as he hugged his girlfriend. "What are you so exited for?" he noticed the sheet of paper in her hand. "What's this?"

"You know that film festival I sent my horror movie into?" Stephanie asked as she sat back on her heels, talking to Carlos and the other three boys that were in the room with them. They nodded in reply and she grinned. "Well, I just found out that I won! _And _they gave me 1000 dollars to make a new film."

"Whoa, that's awesome, Stephanie!" Kendall cried, grinning as he took the paper to look over it himself.

"That's so amazing!" Carlos grinned and kissed his girlfriend on the cheek. "You must be so excited."

"I am," Stephanie replied with a nod. "But I'm also worried too. I mean, how am I going to top that movie."

"We'll help you," Logan replied and then raised an eyebrow. "You know, as long as we know that we're actually going to _be _in the movie or what not."

"I apologized for that already," Stephanie replied, looking indignant.

"I know, but you still can't reverse the psychological damage that you caused," Logan replied and rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. "Or the stain that I still can't get out of my pants." He added quickly.

"Will you guys really help me?" Stephanie asked, looking even more worried. "I mean, there's a lot that needs to be done." She started to count off on her fingers. "Like costumes, lighting, music, sound effects, and storyboards, someone to write the script-"

"We'll be glad to help you," James interrupted and then smiled. "But only if I get to be the main character."

"Leave it to James to want to make the video all about himself," Kendall replied before turning back to Stephanie. "We'd be glad to help you, Steph. It will be fun, and we can get all of our friends to help you too. This is going to be a good movie."

"Uh, no its not!" Gustavo burst into the recording booth, causing all of them to jump. "You're so far behind that I can't let you guys take the day off for the rest of the week." He ignored the shouts of frustration that the boys directed at him. "NO! You guys have to work!"

"Well, then, what if we _work_ while we help Stephanie with the video?" Kendall asked after a second of thinking.

"What do you mean?" Kelly asked, as she had followed Gustavo into the room and was now standing with them with a suspicious expression on her face. "You're not going to do something stupid are you?" she sucked in a sharp breath. "Please tell me you're not going to do something stupid."

"It depends on what your view of stupid is." Kendall replied slowly.

"Anything that you guys ever do!" Gustavo snapped in reply.

"Ok, then it's stupid." Kendall replied carelessly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "All you have to do is put a music montage in the video and we can work on our vocals and dancing at the same time, because I'm almost positive that we won't get it on the first take."

"And if this wins another competition we'll get more famous in the indie crowd." Logan added and then gave a small smile. "And we all know how much you want us to succeed." He raised his eyebrows in a questioning way as he shrugged.

"I'll only agree to do this if I get a part in the movie." Gustavo replied, glaring at the boys.

"What about me?" Kelly demanded, not liking to feel left out. "I want a part too."

"All of you guys can have a part," Stephanie grinned as she got to her feet, tightly clasping the paper in her hand. "Thanks guys, this is going to be so cool!"

"No problem, it sounds like it's going to be fun." Logan replied sincerely. "Shall we get started?"

"We have to tell Jo, 'Mille, and the Jacksons first." Stephanie replied and then grabbed onto her video camera, bringing it up to her eye. "Then we can get started on our movie magic!"

* * *

"A movie? Really?" Sydney questioned as he closed his math book and tossed it to the floor. He looked a little skeptical. "Do you really think that we could make a movie good enough to be in the film festival?" he leaned back in his chair and looked at his friends who were sitting across from him. As soon as they had gotten permission from Gustavo to leave rehearsal early, Big Time Rush and Stephanie went and told Camille, Jo, and Katie what was going on and then they all went over to the Jacksons' house to talk to them about it.

"So you don't want to do it?" Katie asked, raising her eyebrows sure that het Jacksons would jump at the idea as soon as they heard about it. Stephanie deflated a little bit.

"It's not that we don't want to help you guys," Rhuben replied as she tucked her legs underneath her. "It's just we're not sure if you're aware of how hard it is to make a movie or even act in one." She scratched her forehead. "We may make acting look easy, but it's really not" she snorted. "And it's not like we can just set up cameras everywhere to catch people act stupid."

"Who says we can't?" James asked as he rubbed his chin, a mischievous smile on his face. Jo elbowed him in the side and his smile faded. "Sorry."

"Well, this should be a fun learning experience," Patrick commented as he stood up and brushed off the back of his pants. "So, what do you want us to do?"

"You mean you'll help?" Stephanie looked excited again.

"We're your friends, girlie," Riley replied as she looked offended. "Of course we'll help you." She tapped her chin and then glanced over at James before shooting her hand into the air. "I call wardrobe stylist!" she shouted and then stuck her tongue out at James, who let out a screeching sound and pouted. "Haha! I beat ya to it!"

"No fair." He whined.

"I'll work on the script." Noah offered quietly, wringing his hands together before nodding over at Stephanie. "You just have to give me the general idea of what it's going to be about."

"I can help," Rhuben agreed with a nod and ruffled her brother's hair. "I mean, I've written a few episodes that we wrote for our show, so it shouldn't be that hard."

"It's a deal." Noah replied and the two high-fived.

"I can do makeup," Jo added and then grabbed James' chin in her hand. "I've been meaning to work on blending styles and stuff." She added as she studied his face.

"Just don't do anything to damage my face and we'll be fine." James replied and then looked thoughtful. "Hmm, what can I do to help?" he snapped his fingers. "I know, I can do lighting _along_ with being the main character of the movie."

"Sydney and I can do the music and the sound effects, when we start editing it." Patrick added as he motioned to himself and his baby brother. "Besides, he knows almost everything that Ronan and Julius know about editing music and music producing in general."

"Did someone say my name?" Ronan asked as he poked his head in the living room, holding onto a newspaper. He was dressed in a pair of shorts and a football jersey, much different than what he usually wore. "What's going on?"

"Stephanie won the film festival and they gave her money to make a new film," Katie explained as she turned to look at him, brushing her brown hair out of her face. "And we're going to help her."

"So how was my name brought up into this?" Ronan asked as he held up his hands and started to back away. "I'm not going anywhere near this one, because I know you all so well that something is going to go wrong and that somehow I'm going to be roped into it." He clapped his hands over his ears and walked out of the room. "I don't even want to hear it!"

"Yeah, he can get a _little_…freaked out whenever we come up with a plan or something." Riley replied with a chuckle. "He's still getting used to the fact that the only way that we seem to have fun is if we're playing a prank on someone or something like that." She smiled innocently.

"So we still need places to film this, and someone to get all of the equipment too." Stephanie continued as she looked at her notepad. "Other than that, I think that's everything."

"No, we need food too." Carlos replied as he grabbed the notepad and quickly scribbled it down.

"I can get the equipment," Logan offered as he nodded slowly. "I can talk my way into getting good deals on everything."

"Or you can just bore them to sleep by talking about math and science stuff that no one understands, then you can steal it." Kendall replied with a small roll of his eyes. "And I think I know a way that we can get the Palm Woods to be the setting to our movie."

"What about Bitters?" Riley questioned.

Kendall raised an eyebrow as he looked over at her, slightly offended. "For as long as you've known me you're actually wondering how I'm going to get Bitters to let us use the Palm Woods?" he scoffed and placed a hand over his heart. "I'm shocked and dismayed in you, Ruby."

"Wow, nice guilt trip Hockey-Head." Riley replied, raising eyebrow.

"If this lover's spat is over and done with," Sydney jumped in. "You can use our pool and backyard too if you want, and if Gustavo is ok with it, I'm sure you can also use Rocque Records, you know, to make it look more like a movie than a TV set."

"Thanks guys." Stephanie smiled as she looked around at her friends around her with a new feeling of gratitude. "This going to be so much fun!"

"Alright," Kendall rubbed his hands together. "Let's make some movie magic!"

* * *

"Cut!" Stephanie called and pulled a pair of headphones off of her ears. She sighed and rubbed her face and looked through her fingers before forcing a smile and getting off of her director's chair and walking over to James and Camille. They had been working on the movie all day and everything was going fine at first, but now everybody was just getting annoyed at each other. "James, you're doing it again."

"Doing what?" James asked innocently as he pulled a mirror out of his pocket and looked into it to brush his hair out of his face. Stephanie looked over at Camille, who looked annoyed.

"You're overacting James," Camille replied as calmly as possible. "Kind of…overly dramatic." She added as an afterthought.

"Well , that doesn't surprise me." James put his mirror back in his pocket before turning and smirking at her coolly. "I learned it from you."

Camille gasped loudly and held a hand over her mouth in shock before glaring at James and slapping him across the face. "Oh _no_ you didn't!"

"Guys!" Stephanie made a sound of annoyance before running her finger through her hair. "How about we take a little break, do a wardrobe change, and I'll go see how the music is coming along." She took a step back. "Alright?"

"Fine." James and Camille muttered in unison before turning on their heels and walking in the opposite direction. Stephanie let out a breath, blowing hair out of her face and looked at her clipboard. She jumped when she saw a boom mic fall into her face. She looked up and smiled when she saw Carlos standing next to her.

"What?" she asked as she looked at him, waiting as he pulled his headphones down to his neck and gently lowered the boom mic.

"Are you ok?" he questioned as he took off his helmet and put it aside, looking at her, his brown eyes filled with concern. "You seem to be getting a little p.o.'d." he replied.

"I'm fine," Stephanie replied with a short wave of her hand. "I'm just stressed, being the director of this thing and overseeing people work is actually much harder than it is doing everything yourself." She pushed her hair off of her forehead. "Maybe I should have just done this myself and-"

"No, Stephie," Carlos wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and rested his chin on her head. "You're doing a great job and everyone wants to make sure that this is a great movie." He kissed her forehead. "We're all just getting a little high strung with working so hard. Everything will be ok." He looked down at her. "Alright?"

"Mhm," Stephanie replied and then furrowed her eyebrows together as she looked up at her boyfriend. "So how is it that you can be so sweet at times like these, when we're alone, but when other people are around you become a babbling idiot?"

"Because I get nervous letting people know how I feel about you," Carlos replied truthfully and shrugged. "I mean, it's hard to believe that you're even with me when you're so beautiful and I'm such a dork."

"Well," Stephanie reached out and straightened the collar on Carlo's shirt. "Your dorkiness is what I like about you." She smiled and kissed his cheek before grabbing onto his hand and allowed him to lead her to Bitters' office, where Patrick, Sydney, and WayneWayne were making music for the movie.

Earlier Kendall had gone into the office and closed the door behind him, seconds later; Bitters came tearing out of the office, practically sobbing like a baby. When asked what he had done to get Bitters out of there, Kendall just shrugged and said that it was something that he couldn't repeat and that it was only something that he could do once.

Stephanie sighed and ran a hand over her face when she saw that the three boys were arguing with each other. And it was too bad that Camille wasn't around, as she was always able to get WayneWayne to stop whatever he was doing with a hand on his arm and a soft smile. It turned the 'bad-boy' into a puddle of good instantly.

"Your choice of music is stupid!" WayneWayne was saying when the two walked into the room.

"_You're_ stupid!" Patrick replied, looking the most annoyed that Stephanie and Carlos had ever seen him. "We're _not_ using _rap_ music in a movie about _teenagers_ who are falling in _love_!" he rolled his eyes. "Does music like," he started to wave his hands spastically as he made the sound of rap music with his mouth. "_That_ sound like it would be good for romance?"

"You wouldn't know romance if it bit you in the butt!" WayneWayne replied.

"You wouldn't know romance if it slapped you in the face!" Patrick replied and stuck out his tongue. "I don't even really see how Camille is dating you." He added and rolled his eyes.

"I don't even know why the two of you are arguing about this." Sydney commented as he pulled his headphones down his ears. "Both of your music tastes suck," he snorted. "I mean, hip hop and rap aren't even that different."

"Have you guys got _anything _done?" Stephanie asked as she let her presence known. "Anything at all?"

"We have most of the sound effects done," Sydney replied and handed her a stack of tapes that held the footage that they had taped earlier. "All you have to do with this is finish editing it together."

"Thanks so much," Stephanie beamed as she looked over at the little boy. "I knew that I could count on you!"

"What are geniuses for?" Sydney replied with a shrug and a dimpled smile. His smile faded when he noticed that Patrick and WayneWayne were now playing rock paper scissors about something. "The only thing that I_ can't_ figure out is how to get those two to shut up."

"Thanks Syd." Stephanie replied and left the room with Carlos. She had a small smile on her face and Carlos noticed, gently nudging her shoulder.

"See, things are going fine." Carlos replied and slung an arm around her shoulders. "You worry too much." He kissed her cheek again. "Let's go see how everyone else is doing; I'm sure that everything is going to be fine." Stephanie and Carlos then walked into the dressing room (which was actually Jo's apartment) where Jo, Kendall, Katie, and Logan where and she wasn't the least bit surprised when she saw that Kendall and Jo were shouting at each other. "Spoke too soon."

"Yeah." Stephanie replied.

It was then that Jo noticed Stephanie and Carlos in the room and Jo turned to face them, throwing her hands in the air. "Stephanie, can you _please_ tell Kendall that the make up that I put on him is _fine_!" she demanded, grabbing onto Kendall's shoulders and whirling him around.

Stephanie and Logan gasped loudly when they saw the dark makeup that was put on Kendall's face as Katie and Carlos burst out laughing. Kendall's cheeks had big red circles on them and his eyes looked like he had been punched in the middle of the face.

"Oh my god!" Katie cried as she pointed to her brother's face. "You look soooo funny!"

"Doesn't he?" Carlos agreed and continued laughing along with Katie.

"I look like a _clown_!" Kendall snapped through gritted teeth, a vein throbbing in his neck.

"Your makeup is that dark because the camera lights washes out people's faces." Jo replied and then motioned to her own face. "I mean, I did my own makeup and I look just fine."

"That depends is Ronald McDonald looking for a wife?" Kendall snapped back, causing Jo's mouth to drop open before she kicked him in the ankle. "OW! What'd you do that for?"

"Hey Steph look at this discount that I got," Logan smiled as he showed her a laptop screen. He pointed at something. "See, you can get this for ten dollars _and_ are able to keep it an extra day."

"But this stuff if crap!" Stephanie replied as she shook her head. "I mean, the boom mics that you got are already falling apart, Carlos almost beamed Camille in the face with one of them!"

"But think of all the money that you'll be saving!" Logan replied, eyes wide with excitement.

"Logan, you-"

"JAMES, GIVE ME BACK THOSE CLOTHES!" Stephanie whirled around, getting fed up with everything that was going wrong. She had turned just in time to see James run down the hallway, pushing a rack of clothes with Riley chasing after him. "JAMES! I AM SO NOT JOKING! I'LL TELL JO TO BREAK UP WITH YOU IF YOU DON'T COME BACK HERE!"

"What now?" Stephanie groaned and followed them out to the Palm Woods pool Kendall, Jo, Logan, Carlos, and Katie following her, where Riley and James were both holding onto an end of the costume rack and were pulling it back and forth.

"James, let go!" Riley growled as she held tightly onto the metal rack. "We already decided that _I _would be the one that did the wardrobe."

"Yeah, well, your clothing style stinks!" James replied and stuck out his tongue, pulling back on the metal rack.

"Jack Ass!" Riley snapped.

"I'm not an ass!" James replied. "My face looks sooooooo much better than a donkey's butt!"

"At least….Well at least…I'm doing better in school than you!" Riley snapped back after a second of thought, knowing that he wasn't doing so well in school. She knew for a fact that he was always reading magazines to figure out how to make his face even more appealing. "And I _hate _school!"

"Well at least my head isn't shaped like a balloon!" James let go of the clothes rack and placed her hands on his hips.

"At least I have a head! " Riley let go too and rolled her neck as she placed her hands on her hips too. "Did your neck blow a bubble?"

"At least I have space between my eyes!" James sneered.

"And there's also a space between your right and left ear…." Riley cupped her ears with her hands. "What a coincidence."

"Yours TOO!" James shouted.

"Yeah? And? What are you trying to say?"

"You're stupid."

"I bet you can't even spell stupid!"

"S-T-U-P-I….uh…" James trailed off as he looked up at his friends, who were staring at him, in thought.

"Stupid has a D in it stupid! Now whose stupid, stupid?"

"You!"

"Steph, can you _please_ tell Noah that this script needs to be re-written?" Rhuben asked as she and Noah walked over, holding onto sheets of paper. "There are some points that don't make sense and others that are just plain boring."

"Well _excuse_ me for wanting _something_ that people can relate to in here." Noah replied as he waved his script around and then slapped Rhuben in the stomach with them. "At least I can write a script!"

"Guys" Stephanie tried to get everyone's attention but they were too busy yelling and shouting at each other for them to even pay attention to her.

"STPEHANIE!" Gustavo yelled as he and Kelly walked into the Palm Woods. "When are Kelly and I going to be called in to start working?" he demanded. "We have things to do you know!"

"Steph!" Sydney looked annoyed as he, Patrick, Camille, and WayneWayne walked over, also arguing with each other. "Please tell them that I'm right and that they're wrong. The music that I have is something that every teenager will want to listen to."

Stephanie started to look overwhelmed as everyone started shouting and screaming at once. She looked over at Carlos, who didn't look like he knew what to do either. He just looked back at her and shrugged, looking confused. Stephanie brushed her hair behind her ears and glared at her friends, who were still arguing with each other. Twisting her mouth to the side, she walked up to the group of them, moved her arm back and shoved forward, pushing her friends into the pool with a giant splash.

"I hope you're happy!" she snapped when they all resurfaced and had finally grown quiet. "I wanted to get you guys to help me with my video because I thought that we would have fun with it. But all you've done is argue." She took the check that the film festival had given her, out of her pocket and tore it up. "But now you can just forget about it!"

With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the pool with Carlos behind her.

"Wow," Gustavo turned towards the kids that were still treading water in the pool. "What did you guys do?"

* * *

"Hey Steph," Rhuben greeted quietly as she, Katie, Camille, Riley, and Jo walked over to their friend the next day. Stephanie and Carlos were sitting at one of the tables at the Palm Woods pool, reading a magazine as she had been avoiding everyone the day before. "We're sorry about everything that happened yesterday."

"Yeah, we didn't mean to blow everything out of proportion," Riley added, wringing her hands together.

"We were supposed to be helping you and all we did was argue and fight like little kids." Jo added.

"And destroy a lot of equipment." Katie mumbled in addition.

"Can you forgive us?" Camille added in a quiet voice as she looked at her friend hopefully.

"I was never really that mad in the first place." Stephanie replied. There was a shocked cry and the girls turned around and saw Kendall, James, Logan, Patrick, Noah, Sydney, and WayneWayne standing up from behind one of the bushes that they were hiding behind. "I'm guessing that they were too scared to come over and talk to me themselves?" she guessed, giggling.

"Of course." Riley replied as she rolled her eyes.

"Come on over guys, Steph has something to say." Carlos called and waved them over. Stephanie waited until everyone was around before speaking.

"Watching what happened yesterday made me realize that I shouldn't have been mad at you guys." Stephanie stated and looked at her friends. "We've been around each other for so long that we were bound to get a sense of cabin fever. Plus what we were doing…it was all so complicated, we should have just done what I did last time and just taped whatever we wanted. I'm sorry for getting mad at you guys."

"We should be the one apologizing to you." WayneWayne replied and stiffened when everyone looked at him. "What? I can be nice when I want to." He pointed out defensively.

"Really, guys, you don't have to apologize." Stephanie replied and smiled wistfully as she leaned back in her chair and took Carlos' hand in hers as she laid her head down on his shoulder. "It just sucks how we don't have anything to put into the film festival."

"Hmm," Carlos smiled a little bit as he thought of something. "Maybe we do." He replied and looked at his friends mysteriously.

"What are you talking about?" Jo replied as she furrowed her eyebrows together. "Everything was destroyed pretty much."

"Maybe not everything." Stephanie replied, finally catching on to what Carlos was talking about. "Give me about an hour and everything will be finished." She got up from her chair and scurried off, leaving her friends confused behind.

They all went off to do whatever they could think of to keep themselves preoccupied for the next hour and finally Stephanie called them back to her apartment, where she was patiently waiting by the TV, holding onto a video tape.

"Ok, so originally this was going to be a film about teenage romance," Stephanie started to explain, hardly behind able to stand still. "But after a while I realized that what I wanted to show everyone that is even when we fight, I have the best friends in the world, and this is what this film is about." She smiled. "It's not a film anymore, not really, it's more like a picture slideshow that has stuff that I've videotaped and taken pictures of since we've become friends and I think that it would be a good way to depict how great of friends we actually are."

With that, she pushed the video tape into the VCR and turned on the TV before going back to the couch and snuggling up to Carlos' side, smiling and laughing along with her friends as the movie played. She looked up at Carlos, smiling as she watched him. Finally, the movie ended as everyone was laughing and smiling.

"That was good, Cammie." Sydney beamed. "I really liked it." he nodded and smiled.

"I was sure that you guys would," Stephanie smiled. "The funny part was that the fight between Riley and James I didn't even know I had until I realized that I had my video camera with me the whole time."

"I'm sorry for everything I said, James." Riley apologized, although she was laughing a little bit.

"It's alright," James reached out and patted her knee. "I know you didn't mean it."

Rhuben, from where she was squeezed into the armchair with Logan, smiled and reached over to turn on the radio that was by on the table it. She immediately recognized it as Avril Lavigne's _Keep Holding On_ and started to sing along with it.

"You're not alone, together we stand. I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand." she sang and looked over at Logan, who smiled back.

"When it gets cold and it feels like the end," he sang as he looked around the room and this friends. "There's no place to go. You know I won't give in." He looked back over at Rhuben and the two smiled at each other before singing again. "No I won't give in." they sang in unison as everybody else joined in for the chorus.

"Keep holding on" everyone (including WayneWayne) all sang in unison.

"'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through" Rhuben and Logan sang together.

"Just stay strong"

"Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you" Jo sang and smiled over at James, who beamed back and took her hand in his, squeezing it gently. "There's nothing you could say."

"Nothing you could say" everyone repeated.

"Nothing you could do" James sang.

"Nothing you could do. There's no other way when it comes to the truth. So keep holding on."

"'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through." James and Jo sang in unison, smiling as it was the first time that they had sung together. WayneWayne couldn't help but smile as he watched them. Even though he didn't like the boys at first, through Camille he had grown to like them, and he had to admit that the two of them were good singing together.

Kendall took a deep breath and started singing himself. "So far away, I wish you were here." he put his arm around Riley's shoulder and lightly taped the tip of her nose. "Before it's too late, this could all disappear." Riley smiled and started to sing.

"Before the doors close, and it comes to an end." She closed her eyes and leaned her head on Kendall's shoulders. With you by my side I will fight and defend. I'll fight and defend."

"Yeah, yeah" The two of them sang in unison, their voices easily blending together.

"Keep holding on"

"'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through." Kendall and Riley sang together as they gently swayed back and forth.

"Just stay strong."

"Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you."

"There's nothing you could say." Carlos and Stephanie sang in unison, Stephanie's first try at singing ever. Even though she wasn't great at singing, she could still carry a tune and match the notes perfectly.

"Nothing you could say" everyone repeated.

"Nothing you could do" Stephanie sang.

"Nothing you could do. There's no other way when it comes to the truth." Carlos and Stephanie sang in unison again. So keep holding on. 'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through."

"Hear me when I say, when I say I believe," Camille sang and smiled over at WayneWayne. He raised an eyebrow and he shook his head at her, but she nodded her head back. He sighed and rolled his eyes, blushing a litle bit. "Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny."

"Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly," WayneWayne sang and blushed harder as everyone looked at him. They all knew that he could rap and if you were a rapper, you had to have some talent at singing. But the never knew that he could sing so well. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" he sang along with Camille, avoiding everyone's gaze.

"La da da da, La da da da, La da da da da da da da da" Sydney sang as he smiled widely.

"Keep holding on" Everyone sang again.

"'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through." Katie sang and smiled over at Noah, who cocked and eyebrow and smiled as he sang.

"Just stay strong"

"'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you" Noah sang back to her, nuding her shoulder with his own.

"There's nothing you could say" Patrick, Noah, and Katie sang in unison.

"Nothing you could say"

Nothing you could do"

"Nothing you could do"

"There's no other way when it comes to the truth," Patrick put his arms around Katie's and Noah's shoulders and they rocked back and froth to the beat of the song. "So keep holding on. 'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through."

"Keep holding on," Stephanie sang, smiling widely. "Keep holding on."

"There's nothing you could say" Rhuben sang, closing her eyes as she put emotion into her singing.

"Nothing you could say."

"Nothing you could do." Logan sang as he wrapped his arms around Rhuben's waist and hugged her to him.

"Nothing you could do."

"There's no other way when it comes to the truth." Jo and James sang in unison.

"So keep holding on" Everyone sang in unison again.

"'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through." Riley and Kendall sang the ending of the song quietly.

Everybody started clapping and nodding appreciatively as the song ended. Stephanie smiled as she looked around at all of her friends again. She was happy that she had such great friends and that she was going to be friends with them for a long time.

But she also knew that she was never going to get them to help her with a movie ever again.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter, I wanted to show a lot of Carlos and Stephanie, so Carlos may have been a little OOC but I think that it makes him cute. The basis of these last chapters are sort of fillers as I'm gearing up towards the sequel, but I hope it makes you guys laugh and that it makes you enjoy the chapters anyway. Do you? Because I'd really like feedback on that. **

**The next chapter has to do with Camille and WayneWayne so you guys can see why I think that the two of them would be a good couple. I laughed when I wrote the argument for James and Riley, although I think I made James a little too stupid. Anyway, what do you guys think? Can you wait for the sequel or the new story Big Time Boarding School? (Just so you know, Big Time Boarding School is going to be written by me and Rhuben.)**

**Oh and don't forget to go to our new fansite for the Jacksons in our profile, along with going to our twitters and following us. Our 18****th**** birthday was on Thursday and it was awesome! Erin Sanders (Camille) wished us a happy birthday on twitter. It made my day.**

**Until the next chapter,**

**Riley**


	27. Big Time WayneWayne

**.:Chapter Twenty Seven – Big Time Wayne-Wayne:.**

**

* * *

**"Hey, where are you going, 'Mille?" Riley asked as she stopped he friend in the Palm Woods lobby, holding onto her car keys. "Rhubes and I got the day off and we wanted to know if you wanted to go to the mall and buy stuff." She motioned over to the front of the Palm Woods where Camille could see her twin and Jo and Stephanie in the car. "What?" she questioned when she saw the apologetic look on Camille's face.

"I have a audition that I'm working on and my call back is later today," she twisted the script that was in her hand and bit her bottom lip. "And Wally said that he would help and-"

"Say no more," Riley stated as she held a hand up, causing her friend to stop talking. She gave a half-smile, and it occurred to Camille then that she hadn't seen her friend fully smile in a while, it seemed that she only reserved smiles for special reasons. "Tell WayneWayne we said 'hi'."

"You're ok with this…" Camille stated as she placed her hands on her hips, looking suspicious. "That's not like you, why aren't you being all stalkerish?"

"Because all of that crawling around was starting to hurt my knees," Riley replied with a scoff as she crossed her arms over her chest. She then nodded her head towards her car. "And we realized that you wouldn't be dating him if you didn't think he had changed."

"Thanks." Camille sighed and rolled her eyes. "Too bad the guys don't agree with you."

"They're guys, what do you expect?" Riley shrugged and laughed as she patted her friend on the shoulder. "See you later, girlie."

Camille waved as her friends left and she went over to the pool area, where she knew that WayneWayne was waiting for her. "Hey Wally," she greeted when she spotted her boyfriend, scurrying over to him, slapping her script down on the table.

"Hey Camille," he returned with a smile before leaning forward and kissing her on the cheek. "How are you today? Your hair looks nice." He gestured to the chair across from him and she smiled, taking the seat eagerly. "What's up?"

"New script and I'm having trouble with some of it." Camille replied and chuckled a little as she brushed her hair behind her ear. "Which is something that I don't usually say."

"What's the problem, I'm sure that we can get through it." WayneWayne replied as he took off his sunglasses and set them on the table, causing Camille to smile even wider when she got a look at his brown eyes.

A lot of people had asked her how she had fallen for WayneWayne and it was sort of the same way that Rhuben had fallen for Logan. She and Wally had been friends for a while and they had worked on the same show for a while; Magical Middle School. When that show ended they went on to other movies and shows and often saw each other at auditions. But when he came back to try and take Kendall out of Big Time Rush, she wasn't too happy with him. Afterwards, he had apologized to her for his behavior and the two became friends again. Then he admitted that he had liked her for a while and she realized that she liked him too, but knew that it wasn't a good idea to mention it to the other guys because he had continued to do mean things to them.

So she decided to keep it a secret.

But now she's happy that her friends knew so she could openly have a relationship with him. Sure the guys still didn't trust him, but her girl friends did and that was all that mattered to her. But Camille would also like to be able to hang out with all of her friends without having to worry about them arguing with each other.

"Well, what it is is that I have to-"

"Hey guys!" Kendall cried as he grabbed a chair and dragged it over to their table. "Mind if I join you?" he dropped the chair and sat down in it before any of them could say anything. "I didn't think you would. Watcha got there?" he nodded over to the script and snatched it up. "A movie script?" he quickly looked it over and looked at Camille, who was trying to get a word in. "Why didn't you ask us to help you, you know we would have been glad to."

"Because _I'm_ helping her," WayneWayne replied as calmly as possible as he plucked the script from her hand. "But thanks for the offer, man." He patted Kendall on the shoulder and Kendall laughed hollowly, a grimace on his face as he pushed WayneWayne's hand away.

"Nonsense, I have nothing to do today, so I can help." Kendall replied.

"What do you mean you have nothing to do today?" Camille repeated in a dangerously low voice, already knowing what Kendall was up to.

"Oh," Kendall smiled. "Gustavo gave us the day off and we're all yours today."

Camille mentally panicked for a second before thinking of someone else that could be around to keep them from annoying her and WayneWayne. "What about Katie and your mom?"

"They went to the grocery store." Kendall replied and smiled bigger.

"Patrick, Noah, and Sydney?"

"They went to the park."

"Julius?"

"Hanging out with Brittany."

"Gustavo and Kelly?"

"Day off."

Kendall's smile grew wider and wider with each person that Camille had questioned as she obviously didn't want to be stuck with the guys for the day. She thought long and hard and finally came up with one last option that they could have. "What about the Jennifers?"

"Are you crazy?" Kendall snorted as he made a face. "Do you _want_ Riley to kill me?"

"If It would get you out of here," Camille replied with a sweet smile as she discreetly kicked him in the leg. Kendall winced and pulled his leg back out of Camille's space. She turned to WayneWayne, who had been watching the two of them with an odd expression on his face. "I'm sorry about this; do you want to go somewhere else?"

"Yeah, let's go to the lobby." WayneWayne replied as he got up from his chair and pulled Camille's out so she could get up from her chair. He held onto Camille's hand and the two walked into the Palm Woods lobby, only to have James appear in front of them.

"Hey guys, funny coincidence running into _you_ here." He stated as he grabbed onto Camille's arm and forced her into a chair and sitting across from her. He subtly edged WayneWayne out of the way and sat down next to his friend. "Working on a script, let me help."

"No, James," Camille looked at her friend sternly. "Wally is already helping me."

"Right, right," James smiled and patted Camille's hand. "I'm sure that he's doing a great job, too." He looked over at WayneWayne and forced a smile, to which WayneWayne returned, and he leaned close to Camille. "Between you and me he's probably not going to help all that much."

"James!" Camille snapped.

"Bye." James gave a big wave and got out of the chair, hurrying out of the Palm Woods lobby. WayneWayne raised an eyebrow as he moved into the chair that James had just been sitting in and waited a second before looking over at Camille.

"So I'm assuming that I should expect the other two to just pop out of nowhere with the lamest excuses possible to stalk us." He asked as he turned his head to look at her. Camille slowly nodded, looking annoyed.

"Yeah, pretty much." She replied and rubbed her forehead. "I don't get though," she shook her head and turned to face her boyfriend. "I understand that they're worried, because they actually _think_ that you're a bad boy and they're so sweet for wanting to protect me. But they can take things way too far sometimes."

"Well," WayneWayne took off his hat and rubbed his chin. "Maybe I should try and let them understand that I'm not really a bad boy." He suggested. "I didn't even really want to try and kick Kendall out of the band either; I was just desperate for getting a job." He shrugged. "I'll admit that I went at it the wrong way, but still."

"It's alright, Wally." Camille smiled and placed her hand on top of WayneWayne's. "They'll understand it soon."

* * *

"Ok, my plan didn't work at all." Kendall reported as he sighed, rubbing his forehead, a determined look on his face. "What about yours?" he questioned as he turned to look at James, who was busy running his fingers through his bangs to make sure they fell across his face in just the right way.

"No," he replied, still concentrating. "Then again I didn't really try that hard, I had noticed that my hair had fallen out of alignment and-"

"James!" Logan, Carlos, and Kendall cried in unison, getting their friend to stop talking. "Stop!"

"Sorry." James replied quietly as he pulled his hands away from his hair, pouting a little bit.

"I still think that all we have to do is get a bunch of marshmallow fluff and trap him that way." Carlos suggested, kicking his legs back and forth as he ate his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "That way," he swallowed and grinned. "We trap him _and_ get a tasty snack!"

"Yeah, a snack that will get us all killed due to poisoning." Logan replied seriously. "I don't know guys," he frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat, nervously tapping his foot up and down on the floor. "I still don't think it's a good idea to follow Camille around all day, trying to get her to break up with WayneWayne."

"Dude," Kendall looked shocked. "Do you _not_ remember what he tried to do to us?" he held up a hand and started to count off on his fingers. "He tried to kick me out of the band, he tried to mess up the fashion show that we were in, _and_," he wiggled all three fingers in Logan's face. "He tried to frame us when he messed up Gustavo's office."

"There are always reasonable explanations for those things." Logan denied.

"Oh yeah?" James snorted. "Like what? How do you explain the fashion show?"

Logan shrugged again. "He was probably jealous of the fact that he couldn't be in the fashion show." He replied calmly.

"Oh yeah," Carlos shouted through a mouthful of food, spraying Logan with mashed up bits of a sandwich. "Then why did he frame us for Gustavo's office being destroyed?"

"He could have been working on something and accidentally broke Gustavo's office, got scared, and blamed us for it." Logan smiled smugly as if he had figured out everything.

"That doesn't make any sense," Kendall replied as he looked at his friend as if he was crazy. "Considering we had done that whole court room thing to figure it out and I doubt that what you have as the reason as to why WayneWayne framed us is completely wrong."

"Well, I refuse to believe that WayneWayne can be nice." James agreed as he slapped Kendall on the arm.

"But Camille is our friend and if she's dating him, then he should be fine." Logan stated quietly.

"Wow," Carlos blinked once. "Rhu is going ot kill oyu if you don't get along with WayneWayne huh?"

"Yes and she said that she would kill me in the most painful way possible and I don't think that I want to know what that is." Logan replied almost instantly, not even bothering to deny the observation at all. Carlos smiled and laughed at his friend. "Hey, you try having a girlfriend that knows martial arts and you try not to be afraid of that."

"He's got a point." James agreed.

"Guys," Kendall got his friends' attention. "Let's just continue to follow them so we'll know once and for all whether or not WayneWayne is good for Camille. Because I care about a friend's happiness more than my own."

"So what you're proposing that we do is that we wear camouflage, tree hats, and sunglasses and follow them around all day at a risk of being called perverts just to make sure whether or not WayneWayne isn't like he used to be?" Logan questioned as he thought about it. "Is that pretty much it?"

"Yeah pretty much." Kendall replied.

"Cool, I was just checking." Logan replied before getting to his feet along with his friends.

The four boys quickly got dressed and rushed back to the lobby just in time to see Camille and WayneWayne walking out, hand in hand and talking quietly. Bitters watched in suspicion as the four boys somersaulted across the lobby floor and dove behind potted plants, making sure that they weren't being seen by Camille and WayneWayne as they left the Palm Woods. Bitters shook his head and went back to typing up his profile on a dating website as the boys followed Camille and WayneWayne down the street.

"Ugh, can we stop?" Carlos questioned as she collapsed onto a random bench on the sidewalk, brushing sweat off of his forehead.

"Yeah, it _is_ pretty hot out here." Logan agreed as he slowed to a walk, looking back at his firned.

"That's not it, I had some chocolate in my pocket and I was getting hungry." Carlos replied and shoved his hands into his pocket, making a face when he pulled out his hand and it was covered in the brown substance. "Aww man!"

"Guys we're almost there," Kendall paused. "Wherever they're going." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Let' just keep going and we can rest and figure out what they're doing when we get there." He looked around. "James!" he snapped when he saw his friend standing at the window of a store, checking his reflection.

"I'm starting to sweat!" James cried as he frantically blotted himself with a tissue. "I can't sweat, it makes me look ugly!"

"It wouldn't make much of a difference." Logan commented before starting to follow Camille and WayneWayne again, walking at such a fast pace that James couldn't reach him. "Don't hurt me, I bruise easily!"

"That's the idea!" James shouted back.

Kendall and Carlos laughed as they chased their friends down the block. The four boys finally made it into a office building and followed Camille and WayneWayne into the building, diving behind chairs to make sure they weren't seen. From their vantage point, they could tell that they were there for an audition. People flittered in and out of the room as their names were called, often stopping and looking at the four boys strangely.

"What?' Carlos snapped. "Haven't you seen four guys chilling behind a couple of chairs and trying not to get caught by their friends before?" he rolled his eyes. "It's not _that_ weird!"

"Calm down with the attitude, Carlos." Kendall laughed as he patted his friend on the shoulder. "You're getting a little defensive there."

"Guys, wait, she's going into the room." Logan whispered and the guys watched as Camille's name was called and she went into the room, nervously wringing her hands together. They waited for about ten minutes before the door opened again and Camille came back out, talking to the casting director.

"So?" WayneWayne questioned as he stood up to face her. "What happened? What happened?"

Camille's coy smiled bloomed into a large one of joy as she started to jump up and down. "I got it! I got it! I got the part, Wally!" she cried before throwing her arms around WayneWayne's neck and hugging him tightly.

"Congratulations Camille," WayneWayne smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly as they rocked back and forth. "I'm so happy for you." He smiled and kissed her cheek, hugging her again."

"Ok," Kendall whispered. "So maybe we didn't have anything to worry about."

"I told you." Logan whispered back, rolling his eyes.

"Guys, we know you're over there," Camille called as she and WayneWayne walked over to the chairs that the boys were sitting behind and peered over the back. "And we know that you've been following us around all day."

"Really?" Kendall questioned with a nervous laugh. "Guys, have we been following them around all day?"

"Yes." Carlos replied and then cried out in pain as Logan, James, and Kendall slapped him on the arms. "Ouch!" he frowned. "Will you guys stop doing that? I mean it really hurts."

"Listen," Camille looked over at WayneWayne, who gave her a reassuring smile, and then turned back to the four boys. "I know that you guys are worried that WayneWayne isn't a good match for me," She stated. "But I've known him for a long time, much longer than I've known you, and I think that I would be able to figure out whether or not he has changed."

"Besides," WayneWayne raised an eyebrow. "It's cool hanging out with you guys, all of your ideas to have fun are really interesting." He added. "I mean, what with all the tree hats and everything." He looked thoughtful. "Do you think you'd be able to help me sneak into Miss. Collin's classroom so I could change my science grade?"

"That's morally wrong and-"

Kendall, James, and Carlos shoved Logan out of the way and crowded around WayneWayne as they started to talk about different plans that they had made to try and change their grades in Miss. Collins' grade book as they didn't do that well in school.

"You ok, Logan?" Camille asked as she helped her friend to her feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Logan stated as he brushed off his clothes, looking annoyed. "But you know how I kept saying that I needed new friends?"

"Yeah."

"I don't need them if they're going to act like Kendall, James, and Carlos."

* * *

**A/N: Short filler chapter, I just wanted you guys to know what it would take for the guys to understand that if Camille likes WayneWayne then he wouldn't be that bad. And because I wanted to have a chapter that just had to do with the guys of BTR. I hope you guys liked it anyway. I'll update soon, and hopefully it won't be another week until I get to it. :)**

**-Riley**


	28. Big Time Revenge

**.:Chapter Twenty Eight – Big Time Revenge:.**

**

* * *

**"So what's going on with the CD sales?" Rhuben questioned as she pulled her legs up into her lap and twirled around in her computer chair. Ronan smiled and reached a hand out, placing it on her head to get her to stop spinning. "It must be important if you wanted us to come in today."

"It's not that bad if that's what you're worried about." Julius commented from where he was sitting at the end of the table, holding his feet on the end of the table. He looked sort of bored as he held a lollipop in his mouth and was playing with his hands.

"That's not what we're worried about," he siblings commented in unison, causing Ronan and Julius to laugh.

And it was the truth, but they were all worried about something in their own head. Riley never liked the idea of having to go into the meeting room, because you never knew whether or not your band would be getting the book from the record company. Rhuben was worrying over whether or not their fan base had changed. Patrick and Noah were worried that they might have to do some sort of publicity stunt that they didn't want to do, and in the music industry, that happened a lot. And Sydney…well, Sydney was worried about an experiment that he was working on back at home. He had to leave before it eas even finished and he wasn't sure what would happen to it.

"Right," Ronan smirked, knowing his kids better than they knew themselves, before sitting in the chair that was at the opposite end of the table. "Anyway, your guys' last CD Broken Walls, as you know, ended up winning an ARIA and sold a _lot_ of copies."

"Yeah, we already knew that." Patrick replied with a small smirk as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I mean, the influx on our website didn't give us a hint." Wordlessly, Noah, who was sitting next to him, reached up a hand and slapped his brother on the back of the head. Patrick's smile didn't wane as he ignored his brother.

"So what's this about then?" Riley questioned as she raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we be working in the studio today?"

"That's what this is about," Ronan replied as he pointed to her and she raised her eyebrows as she listened. "Your new CD is great, but from the sales on your last CD and one the ones that you had before, Julius and I noticed that all of your music that was darker has been getting more of a response out of your fans."

"Meaning," Julius broke into the conversation. "That we think that it would be a good idea if we," he nervously rubbed his forehead. "And by we, I mean you guys, should hold off on the dancier CD and go ahead and make another dark one."

"What?" Sydney stated after a second, voicing everyone's thoughts. He looked confused as he stuck a pen in his mouth and started to chew on the cap. "You _are _aware of the fact that the only reason that we had made dark CDs was because we were being abused at the time and that we wanted to vent that frustration out somewhere."

"We're not all smart like you, Syd, but we're not stupid either." Ronan pointed out. Sydney smiled sheepishly and waited for them to continue. "Think about it," He continued as he sat up and looked at his kids. "If something good is happening, you might as well continue with it."

"But we let pretty much the whole world know that the only reason out songs were so dark was because of the fact that we were abused." Rhuben pointed out as she rubbed her chin. She wasn't agreeing or disagreeing with the idea, she just wanted to hear them out. "So, wouldn't that kind of be defeating the purpose?"

"Gustavo and Kelly think that it's a good idea," Julius continued to stick with the idea. "And we think that it's a good idea too." He scratched his neck. "And personally I think that those songs that you had written back then were some of the best ones that you had ever written."

"Plus, you guys are probably the only ones that can make up a dance routine to a rock song that people usually would never be able to make routines to." Ronan added.

"You're pretty much just going to keep pitching this idea until we go ahead and agree aren't you?" Patrick questioned as he raised an eyebrow and the two men nodded. Patrick sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Well, you guys know the statistics about not following what the fans want and we always want our fans to be happy."

"Trust me you guys, this is going to be good for you and for Big Time Rush." Julius stated and smirked as his brothers and sisters looked interested.

"What do you mean for us and for Big Time Rush?" Sydney asked as his eyes narrowed slowly. Suddenly his eyes flew open wide and he let out a gasp so loud that his brothers and sisters turned to him with wide eyes, wondering if he had just been hit by something. "They're going on tour with us?" his eyes grew even wider. "They're going to be our opening band?"

"You're too smart for your own good," Ronan commented dryly. "Because it would have taken them much longer to figure that out." He added with a teasing smile as he motioned over to his other kids, who let out cries of outrage. Ronan ignored him and went on to his next topic. "So what we need to go over is-"

Before he could finish the door to the conference room burst open and everyone turned around to see Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos shoving each other at the door and shouting about being their opening band for their tour.

"So," Julius held out the word for about six syllables. "I'm assuming that Gustavo just told you guys the good news."

"Duh!" Carlos cried his eyes wide with excitement. "I mean, the first tour was cool, but this one is going to be awesome!" He skipped over to the Jacksons and crushed Patrick and Noah in a hug. "We're going to be touring with you guys! Now we can stay up late every day and tell ghost stories, and eat junk food, and-"

"It's not like we don't do that already." Sydney pointed out with a giggle.

"Yeah," Carlos let go of the twin boys and laughed. "But we get to do it on a tour bus and that's the only excuse that time."

"Good point." Noah remarked with a smirk.

"What's wrong?" Kendall asked when noticed the expression on Riley's and Rhuben's faces. "Something's bothering you."

Riley looked over at Rhuben, who was looking back at her and the two seemed to have a silent conversation with each other. It was something that all six of them were able to do since they were very young and at times it proved to be very helpful. Riley raised an eyebrow at Rhuben, and she twisted her mouth to the side before closing her eyes briefly and the twin girls turned back to him.

"It's nothing." They replied in unison.

* * *

"Mom, this is probably the _best_ news ever!" Kendall cried as he grabbed onto his mother's shoulders when the boys had gotten back to the Palm Woods. He started to shake her. "Not only are we going on a tour around the US and Australia. But we're going on tour around the US and Australia with our _best friends_!"

"_And_ with all of the publicity, I'll be able to sell lots of Big Time Rush _and_ DarkElements' t-shirts and other stuff too." Katie added with a smile. "Just think, I won't have to go to college with all of the money that I'm going to make."

"No, you're going to college sweetie," Mrs. Knight replied sternly. "Because you're going to study to become a lawyer."

"A lawyer?" Katie looked interested. "Really?" she wrinkled her nose at the thought and Kendall nodded in agreement, standing next to his mom. "Making a lot of money just to lie." She smiled. "I like it."

"When does the tour start?" Mrs. Knight asked as she started to pull things out of the pantry to make for lunch, knowing that the guys were going to be hungry soon.

"In the next few weeks," Logan spoke up from where he, James, and Carlos were sitting on the couch quietly. They were still shocked that they were going to be going on a major tour, much bigger than the one that they had just gotten off of. "We're going to go from the West Coast to the East Coast and then fly out to Australia and tour around there, and then end the tour with one last concert here in LA."

"I can't believe it," James was smiling as if he had just proposed to Nicole Scherzinger and she agreed to it. "My dreams are finally coming true. Touring with a band so big that we'd be playing sold out concerts _and_ be in venues so big that I can't see everyone at the back." He sighed wistfully. "I don't think I could be any happier."

"I could," Carlos smiled as he looked at the ceiling, as if he could see his daydream up there. "If my dressing room was filled with cheese." Logan and James made a face as they lifted their heads and looked at their spacey friend. "What?" Carlos looked defensive. "You can't tell me that you've never wanted a dressing room full of cheese."

"No," Kendall shook his head. "But I've always wanted a pool full of jello."

"Try belly flopping onto that." Katie agreed, she turned when there was a knock on the door and smiled when she saw Noah push open the door and stick his head inside. "Hey Noah," she greeted cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Hey everyone," he gave a small smile and a wave. "I was just wondering if you guys wanted to come to dinner with us tonight." He looked embarrassed. "Kind of like what we did the last time that we got news of the tour." He looked over at Mrs. Knight. "You're invited too, Mama Knight. Everyone is going."

"Thanks for the invitation, Noah," Mrs. Knight smiled and nodded. "That means that I won't have to make dinner tonight." She wiped her hands off on her pants. "And that also means that this is probably the best that we're going to be eating for a while."

"Most likely." Noah agreed with a laugh. "We're going to meet down in the Palm Woods lobby before we leave. The reservation is a 7, so we're going to be leaving her at like 5:45 or so, just in case we can get to our table early." His laughter faded and he looked a little nervous. "Kendall, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Kendall looked surprised but gave a small anyway. "Yeah, sure." He followed Noah out of the apartment, closing the door behind him. "What's up, man?"

"Well, uh," Noah stammered as he rubbed his arm. "I'm not sure if you noticed or anything, um," he suddenly felt extremely shy, the same way that he felt whenever he met someone new, and he hated it because Kendal laws one of his friends that he has gotten to know after a while and felt that he shouldn't be nervous or shy around him anymore. "Well, I-"

"Noah, are you ok?" Kendall interrupted, looking concerned. "You look like you're going to pass out or something." That was true, as Noah's face had turned a slight shade of red. "What's up?"

"Um, I just wanted to let you know," Noah took a breath and finally got out what he wanted to say. "That Katie and I…we're _sort of_ dating…" he swallowed hard and rushed through the rest of his sentence. "I just wanted to let you know, just in case you weren't ok with it..and, yeah." He smiled lamely.

"Yeah, I already knew that." Kendall laughed as he rubbed his forehead.

"You did?" Noah asked with a small nod. "Riles told you didn't she?" he asked in his quiet voice and then looked annoyed. "I knew that she would-"

"No, she didn't tell me." Kendall laughed and placed his hand on Noah's shoulder. "I noticed that she was acting different, because she was all smiley instead of planning stuff." He explained. "That and you two had been acting weird for a while. And I knew that it wasn't Patrick that was dating her because he was acting like he normally was." He slapped Noah's shoulder encouragingly. "But hey, have fun, do whatever. But if you ever-"

"Yeah, I know that line." Noah held up a hand, getting Kendall to stop. "I used it on Ri-Ri's and Rhu-Rhu's old boyfriends." He blushed as he looked at the floor. "I promise I won't hurt her."

"I know you won't." Kendall replied and opened the door to the apartment again and walked into the room, watching as Logan and Carlos were making faces and doing things in front of James' face, trying to get him to stop smiling the stupid smile that was still on his face. "Now the only thing I'm wondering is what happened to sanity of all of us since we had come to California."

"Yeah, I had been wondering the same thing ever since we got here," Noah agreed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What's up with James?" he snickered. "Let me guess, he finally got the perfect Cuda product?"

"No, he's just happy that we're going on tour again." Kendall replied as if this happened every day, walking over to James and doing the same thing that Logan and Carlos were.

"Oh," Noah still looked confused. He reached his hand into his pocket as his cell phone rang. He read whatever text he had gotten and turned to his friends, looking amused. "We need to go down to the lobby. Apparently Bitters is going on a rule rampage."

"Then we better go see what's going on," Logan sighed, although he was smiling as he turned to Noah. "I'm not sure why, but I have a feeling that Rhuben is the one that's behind Bitters being mad."

"Good guess." Noah replied with a half smile.

"I'm in," Katie announced as she jumped down from the stool that she was sitting on and walked over to Noah to stand next to him. "Anything that has to do with getting on Bitters' nerves I'm there." She smiled mischievously.

"Let's get James down there then." Kendall commented and he, Logan, and Carlos grabbed James by the arms and legs and easily lifted him off of the couch and went down to the Palm Woods lobby, where the rest of their friends were sitting in chairs, looking annoyed. Well, they weren't sure about WayneWayne, because he had his sunglasses on again.

Ever since they had helped WayneWayne break into Miss. Collins' grade book, the boys and WayneWayne had figured out that they actually had a lot in common and that WayneWayne wasn't as mean as they thought he was. But they decided to just keep calling him WayneWayne as the name Wally wasn't much of a name that was taken seriously. (At least, that's what Logan said.)

"What's going on?" Carlos asked as he dropped James to the ground and gave Stephanie a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "What's Bitters done to make you guys so annoyed?"

"Well, you know how it's almost Halloween?" Jo questioned, completely ignoring the fact that her boyfriend was lying down on the ground after having been dropped by his friends. "Bitters has made it a rule that if you want to go trick or treating half of the candy has to go to him _and _you can't do pranks at all, _and _you can't dress up in something scary."

"And that's what you're mad about?" Logan questioned as he turned to his girlfriend, eyebrows raised. Rhuben glared over at him and he rubbed his chin in thought. "Then again, you two were always the ones that were always so excited whenever Halloween rolled around." He sighed and squeezed into the chair next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "C'mon Bells, I know you, you're not going to let Bitters just get away with it."

Rhuben snorted. "Of course not," she looked a little offended. "We just need all of your guys' help." She added as she motioned in between herself, Riley, Patrick, and Sydney.

"And that's what I like about you," Logan commented as he kissed her on the cheek. "Always wanting to stand up for what you believe in." he blinked slowly. "Even if it has to do with the fact that all you want is a bunch of peanut butter flavored Halloween candy."

"Nice try," Rhuben smirked as she turned her head and looked at her boyfriend with a raised eyebrow. "But you're not getting out of this one."

"Darn it!" Logan whined as he moved his arm to his lap, causing Jo, Camille, Stephanie, Katie, and Riley to laugh at him. That was something that they were going to have to get used to, when someone had a plan, everyone was expected to help finish the plan.

"So what's the plan?" Kendall asked eagerly as they all huddled together.

"First, what's up with James?" Patrick asked as he peered over at his friend, who still hasn't moved from the ground. "He's not dead is he?"

"No, he's just really happy with the news of the tour." Katie replied casually.

"Congratulation on that, by the way." Camille replied with a bright smile. "You guys must be excited."

"Very excited," Riley agreed, not sounding very convinced. Then again, she was staring at James, looking concerned herself. "Doesn't he realized that he's messing up his hair?" At that statement, James leapt off of the ground with a shriek and started to frantically move his hands over his hair.

"Wow," WayneWayne stated, looking appalled. "You guys weren't kidding when you said that he had an unnatural obsessing with his hair." He made a face. "That's kind of creepy."

"Anyway, back to the plan." Stephanie brought everyone's attention back to Rhuben. "What plan do you have for revenge?"

Rhuben grinned evilly as she rubbed her hands together. "Everyone gather 'round" she stated as everyone leaned forward, to make sure that no one behind them would be able to hear what they were saying. "This is the plan…"

Stephanie smiled as Rhuben explained the plan to everyone. This was going to use everything she knew about making people scared, and that was something that she was an expert at. Add in the fact that it was against Bitters and that everyone loved a good prank every once in a while, this was going to be a piece of cake to get done.

* * *

Bitters was minding his own business in his office when it happened. He wa sitting in his chair, eating a basket of fries, and glaring at the two posters on the wall of his office. They were posters of Big Time Rush and the DarkElements. But they were more like wanted signs from the way that he was glaring at them. He has made the posters into dartboards and had also drawn mustaches on everyone's faces. The day that the Jacksons had moved out was one of the best days of his life, but all he had to do now was wait for Big Time Rush to leave too.

"I've got my eyes on you punks," he muttered to himself, eyes narrowing even further. "There's nothing that you can do without me watching." He turned around in his chair to look at the video monitors behind him and screamed loudly when he saw the Jacksons standing behind him, dressed in black from head to toe. Complete with the black streaks on their cheeks. They were all grinning evilly at him. "What do you want?" he asked dangerously.

"Bitters, Bitters, Bitters," Patrick shook his head slowly as the five of them crowded around the man. "It's not what we _want_ it's what we _want to do_." He smirked as Bitters' eyes narrowed even further as he paused. "To you."

"Using our faces as dartboards?" Rhuben added as she looked over at the posters. "That is just _sick!_ It's _sick_ and _wrong_!"

"Besides," Riley added as she placed her hands on her hips. "What did we ever do to you?"

"You mean besides drive him crazy?" Sydney asked and snickered a little bit. Noah raised an eyebrow and he and Sydney held out their hands pushing Bitters back down into his chair when he tried to stand up. "Ah, ah, ah, where do you think _you're_ going?" The five of them crowded around Bitters again and pulled their hands out from behind their backs to reveal them holding onto rolls of duct tape.

"_You're_ not going anywhere." Noah commented and the five of them surrounded him and duct taped his arms and legs to the chair as Sydney pulled a blindfold over his face.

"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Bitters shouted as he desperately tried to get away. "GET OFF OF ME! HELP! HEL-"

Rhuben shoved a sock into his mouth to muffle his screams and the five of them grabbed onto the chair and pushed him out of the office, ignoring the confused looks that people were giving them as they went by. They didn't get stopped or were questioned about what they were doing, as weird things happened in the Palm Woods every day and this was just another one of the strange things that happened. (It wasn't the first time that Bitters had been kidnapped for some sort of movie.)

They pushed Bitters until they reached the Palm Woods pool, where they had dimmed the lights, and then left him there after quickly cutting the duct tape and pulling the blindfold off of his eyes. The Jacksons ran and jumped behind one of the rows of plants and sat with Stephanie, watching to see what would happen.

"Good job guys," Stephanie smiled as she held onto her video camera, watching the feed of Bitters as he struggled to get out of the chair. "Phase one is done." She lifted a walkie-talkie to her mouth. "On to phase two."

"Got it." Jo's voice came back through the walkie-talkie that she had.

"I don't know guys," Sydney sounded remorseful as he rubbed the black streak off of his cheeks, making a face as it was now stuck to his hands. "Should we really be doing this? What if we're making a big deal out of nothing." He frowned. "I feel bad."

There was a second of silence before they all started laughing again. Stephanie shushed them and the Jacksons watched as she stood up, out of Bitters' view and gave a thumbs up. Jo, Camille, and WayneWayne, who were sitting behind a row of plants on the other side of the Palm Woods pool stood up and gave a thumbs up back. They crouched low and looked at the controls that were sitting on the ground in front of them. They were using the control panel that Stephanie had used to make the film of the Palm Woods ghost and now she had rearranged it to have a more Halloween feel.

WayneWayne and Camille pushed and prodded a few buttons and he lights in the Palm Woods went out completely, but they could still see Bitters sitting in his chair, looking around warily. Jo pushed a button marked **smoke** as WayneWayne pushed a button marked **spotlight one**. As they watched, smoke poured into the Palm Woods pool as a spotlight appeared in the corner. Bitters made a whimpering sound and turned towards the spotlight, seeing something slowly moving towards him. To Bitters it looked like a zombie, but to everyone else, they knew that it was Logan under a lot of stage makeup that Jo and Camille had gotten a hold of.

"Bitters," Logan groaned as he slowly moved forward. "Bitters, why have you disturbed my sleep?"

"I didn't meant to," Bitters whimpered in reply, shaking so badly he dropped his basket of fries on the ground. "I was just minding my own business in my office when those…_punks_ tied me up and-"

"SILENCE!" Logan commanded.

"It's your turn Kendall," Stephanie whispered into her walkie-talkie. "Go for it." She raised a hand above the bushes and gave another thumbs up as Jo pushed a button marked **spotlight two**.

Kendall, who was dressed up as a werewolf, moved out from another part of the Palm Woods lobby and walked on all fours towards Bitters, growling like a wolf. The makeup that was used on him made him look like an actually werewolf, complete with the yellow contacts that they used for the evil eyes. Bitters looked over at him and whimpered as he backed up even more.

"Don't hurt me!" he cried.

"We won't have to," James, who was dressed up as a vampire, stated as he 'flew' across the Palm Woods on a harness that the Jacksons were moving. "If you promise to leave Big Time Rush, the DarkElements, and their friends…" he paused and lost his fake accent. "Actually, if you could just leave everyone alone and get rid of your stupid rules, that would be great."

"Wait a minute," Bitters walked over to James, who was still suspended in mid air and hit James on the back of the head, popping out his fake teeth. "AHA!" he shouted and moved over to Kendall, ripping off some of the fake fur on his face, causing Kendall to scream in pain, and then over to Logan, who smiled sheepishly and lowered his arms. "I knew that something fishy was going on!" he sneered at them. "Did you think that a stunt like this would actually get me to change my rules?"

"We were hoping." Logan replied in a quiet tone.

"HA!" Bitters laughed loudly, his voice echoing across the pool. "I own this hotel and what I say goes!" he moved closer to the three boys and laughed at them. "And I'm saying that you, wait," he paused and counted them, looking confused. "There are three of you here, where's the fourth one?"

Suddenly there was the sound of a chain saw revving and a loud scream that echoed off of the pool walls. Jo and Camille came out from behind the bushes, screaming with pain and covered in fake blood and scars.

"RUN!" Jo screamed. "Run, get away!"

"HE'S AFTER US!" Camille added falling to her knees as blood fell out of her mouth, being as dramatic as possible. "Save yourselves." She and Jo fell to the ground, gasping as blood continued to spill out of their wounds and a tall figure dressed in black and holding a chainsaw slowly walked towards them.

"Oh like I believe that," Bitters rolled his eyes and walked over to the hooded person. "Like I'm dumb enough to think that this isn't your little friend." He reached up and pulled back the hood to reveal no head sitting there. Bitters' eyes opened wide and he screamed so loud that people a few blocks away could hear him. He turned and ran out of the Palm Woods pool as fast as he possibly could.

Katie laughed as she pulled the hood off of her head and jumped down from Carlos's shoulders as he turned off the chain saw. All of their friends came out from behind the bushes and laughed as they watched Bitters run out of the Palm Woods pool. They walked into the Palm Woods lobby and watched as Bitters erased some of the rules on his board and started to rewrite them.

"That should keep him busy and scared for a while." Riley laughed as she dusted off her hands on her pants.

"It's a good thing that we had all of that duct tape," Sydney remarked. "From all of our constant moving, I'm surprised that we didn't run out yet."

"Oh, I wish that I had a picture of Bitter's face." Katie sighed as she high-fived Carlos and the two burst out laughing again as everyone else joined in.

"A video is better," Stephanie replied as she held up her video camera, raising and lowering her eyebrows rapidly.

"Now I understand why you guys are always having fun all the time." WayneWayne declared as he shook his head. "I have to admit. That was really cool."

"Where did you get that thing anyway?" Logan asked as he looked over at Carlos who was still holding onto the chain saw, with a suspicious gaze. Carlos had once injured himself with brushing his teeth, so he was sort of afraid of what he could do with a power tool.

Carlos just shrugged in reply. "I met a guy." He replied camly.

"Hey dogs, when are we going to…din…ner?" Gustavo walked up and noticed that everybody was dressed up in Halloween clothes.

"I don't even want to know." Kelly stated, shaking her head.

"That's a good idea," Mrs. Knight agreed as she shook her head, hitching her purse up her shoulder. "I stopped wondering years ago and it made me so much saner than I was before. Trust me."

"I know the feeling." Ronan agreed.

* * *

**A/N: So I found out by watching the season two premiere of BTR last night that Jo's last name is Taylor…I'm probably going to keep it as Tarver, but whatever. I hope you guys liked this chapter. There's one more, than the epilogue, and then the third story in the trilogy called With Friends Like These III: Here and Now. I hope you guys are excited for it. :) (Just so you know, in the sequel there's going to be a lot of Kiley, Lella, Carphanie, Jameo, and Wamille.)**

**-Riley**


	29. Big Time Memories

**.:Chapter Twenty Nine – Big Time Memories:.**

**

* * *

**"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Sydney shouted before throwing an armful of clothes over the banister and onto the floor as Patrick and Noah ran back and forth, trying to catch the falling clothes. "NICE CATCH!"

"When I said that you guys needed to get all of your clothes so we could pack them all up, I didn't actually mean for you to literally gather them all together." Julius commented from where he was watching sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, looking amused. Riley and Rhuben were standing behind him, holding onto pillows, trying to throw them at Patrick and Noah as they ran back and forth. He grabbed the pillows from his sisters and stood up. "Besides, you're doing it wrong." He pulled back his arms and moved them forward, throwing the pillows and effectively hitting Patrick and Noah in the face, knocking them over.

"Nice shot!" Rhuben cried as Riley burst out laughing, watching as Patrick and Noah pulled themselves out of their pile of clothes.

"You know when I wanted you guys to gather your clothes so we can get them to the launder mat and dry cleaning, I didn't mean for you to all throw all of your clothes into the middle of the floor." Ronan commented as he walked over and pulled a sweatshirt off of Noah's head. He sighed heavily, although he was smiling. "Do you guys always act like kids?"

"You're forgetting the fact that we didn't have much of a childhood," Riley explained as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and smiled at her dad, who made a face in reply. "So we're letting you enjoy everything that we missed."

"And that _includes_ breaking things." Patrick added with a nod, causing Ronan to slowly turn towards him. "What?" he held up his hands defensively. I can tell you, _honestly_, that I _didn't_ break your shoe rack."

"Which pretty much means you did." Sydney stated as he threw his leg over the banister and slid down until he reached Riley, Rhuben, and Julius and slid off. "When are everyone else getting here? "He smiled sheepishly as he hurried to stand next to his dad. "We invited them over so they could help us with our stuff."

"Seriously?" Ronan questioned as he raised an eyebrow. "And they agreed to it."

"Actually, Monster and Munchkin conned them into it." Julius corrected and smirked when Ronan glared over at the two of them. Rhuben slapped her brother on the back of the head and hurried to explain.

"We didn't _con_ them exactly," Rhuben replied as she held her hands up defensively and then started to tap her feet in a drum beat, something that she did when she was nervous. "We asked them to come over and help us with something….without telling them why."

"Yeah, that doesn't make it sound any better." Noah commented as she shook his head, placing his hands on his hips. "Just throwing it out there." He added as he held up his hands, mocking his sister's stance.

All of them turned when they heard the doorbell ring…and keep ringing, letting them know that it was Carlos who was at the door; because he said that he loved their doorbell ring so much that he loved to push it every time they came over. Sydney jumped to his feet, letting out a loud 'yay' and ran over to the front door, pulling it open as fast as he could.

"Hey Little Man," Jo greeted with a wave before looking over at Carlos, who continued to ring the doorbell even though the door had opened.

"Hey Joey," Sydney beamed, using his nickname for her and giving her a quick hug around the waist before stepping aside and letting everyone into the house. "Excuse the mess," he added now looking embarrassed even though he was the one that was throwing the clothes over the banister moments before. "We're just doing some last minute packing."

"Last minute procrastination is more like it." Logan commented as he looked down at the pile of clothes and then over to Riley and Rhuben, who he knew procrastinated on everything except for their music careers.

"Guilty as charged." Riley added with a smirk.

"Wait a minute," WayneWayne pointed down at the clothes and then looked up at the Jacksons. "You called us over here to help you pack didn't you?"

"Nothing gets by you," Patrick commented and then was elbowed in the back by Noah.

"Hey we don't mind helping," Katie commented as she rolled her eyes. "Although, knowing how messy you guys can get, I'm sure that you guys are going to be finding more stuff that you haven't seen in a while before you even get halfway to being finished."

"So I'm proposing that we get dinner or some food started and we leave the rest of them to clean up." Mrs. Knight suggested as she moved by everyone and walked over to Ronan, who was rubbing his head and muttering something under his breath. "That way you can keep your sanity."

"Good idea," Julius agreed and got off of the stairs and hurried out of the room before any of his siblings could say anything. Riley waited until he was out of earshot before speaking.

"Half of this mess is his." She stated as she came down the stairs the rest of the way and kicked at a shirt. "He just doesn't like to admit that he was acting like a normal human being for once in his life."

"I HEARD THAT!" Julius shouted.

"GOOD, I SAID IT OUT LOUD!" Riley shouted back, causing their friends to laugh at their antics.

"Well, let's get started then," Carlos, who had finally abandoned the doorbell and was now hovering over the mess. "This mess is starting to annoy me a little bit." Rhuben snorted loudly, waving her hand at the pile.

"We can get that done later," she stated as she shook her heads. "We just wanted to have a bit of fun before all we do is just perform, perform, perform."

"But isn't that the point of your job, or why you started your band?" Stephanie asked as she followed her friends to the living room and sat down on a couch. She sighed heavily and moved her video camera to the ground. "Hard to believe that you guys are going on tour?"

"You sound like you're going to tell us some bad news." Camille remarked as she raised an eyebrow.

"It depends on the way that you look at it," Stephanie replied slowly, looking over at Carlos, who looked interested himself. She sighed again. "I might not be able to see you guys on tour."

"What?" Patrick, Noah, and Katie cried in unison.

"With all of the movies that I've been making, I applied for an internship at a few filming companies and it's at the same time that you guys are going to be on tour," Stephanie explained as she wrung her hands together. "Trust me, if I could find a way around it, I would."

"That's ok, Steph." Carlos replied after a second as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. "We know that you'll be there in spirit."

He was lying through his teeth. Ever since he had met Stephanie and had started a relationship with her, he knew that one day that he would have to be away from her. When he was touring the US on the last tour Stephanie and her dad had gone to many of the shows that they had to support him. And now he wouldn't be able to see her for a long time and the thought of that was killing him on the inside. Even though they hadn't been dating that long, he was in love with her and he knew that. He also knew that she felt the same way even though they hadn't actually said it to each other yet. But he didn't want her to know how he was feeling, so he just kept his mouth shut and tried to reassure her.

"I'll come to as many shows as I can," Camille agreed with a nod. "Whenever I don't have casting calls or anything."

"Me too," Jo agreed with a nod. "I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to go to the ones in Australia, but the US shows I'll totally be there." She looked thoughtful before turning to Katie. "Are you going to be going with them the whole tour?"

Katie looked surprised, as if she didn't even think of that. She looked over at her brother, who had the same expression on her face. He just shook his head and forced a smile. "I'm sure that she's going to be able to. I mean," he chuckled a hollow laugh. "You know mom, she can hardly stand it when we go to school for four hours. She worries too much."

"Yeah, she wouldn't be able to let Kendall go that far for that long." Katie agreed, laughing hollowly herself, although she didn't look convinced.

"What are you guys all moping around for?" James threw his hands into the air. "We're all supposed to be happy; we're going to be on tour." He was feeling the same thing that everyone else was anxiousness. He didn't want to leave Jo or his friends at the Palm Woods behind, but he knew that it was bound to happen. He just wanted to change the subject, to get his friends happy again. "Hey, do you remember when we first bumped into you guys?" he asked, turning to the Jacksons, who cracked smiles.

"To be technical," Rhuben corrected as she leaned back against the couch, shifting Sydney's weight so he wasn't just sitting on one of her legs. "It was Logan that bumped into me, before I remembered that we knew each other before."

"Yeah, when you were mean to me." Logan replied as he stuck out his tongue, although he was trying not to laugh.

_"What with the possible swallowing of pool water, which will result in the possible dehydration, I think I'll go with the smoothie first," Logan said to himself and then walked over towards the smoothie bar. Getting distracted by two kids who ran by, screaming at the top of their lungs, Logan didn't notice a girl in front of him until he walked right into her, causing her to drop a book to the ground and fall onto her back. "Oh, I'm __so__ sorry." He cried._

_"Why don't you watch where you're going?" she snapped in disgust as she lifted herself up off of the ground, and brushed off the back of her pants._

_"I-I was paying attention to where I was going." Logan stammered._

_"That much is obvious!" the girl snapped back as she checked her hands and legs to make sure that she wasn't bleeding. "Do you ever walk much? It's not that hard!"_

_"I'm sorry."_

_"You already said that!"_

_Logan was taken aback by her harsh tone and he studied her. Black hair with a single purple streak, dark blue eyes, small frame, and from what he could see quickly, she had a scar in her eyebrow. When she looked up at him and glared, he could see little freckles on her cheeks. Logan looked down in his hand and held the black book out to her._

_"Here, you dropped-"_

_"You didn't look in it, did you?" she demanded, looking more curious than angry now. She looked like she was going to punch him out if he did, so Logan was glad that he didn't even bother looking._

_"No," he quickly shook his head. "I just saw it on the ground and picked it up." He held it out even further. "Here you go." He added._

_"Thanks," the girl hesitated before taking it from him. "Uh," she looked annoyed. "Sorry about snapping at you. I've got a headache and those little kids aren't helping much." She added, gesturing to the screeching kids that just ran by._

_"It's ok," Logan replied with a small smile._

_"Well," she paused and nodded. "See ya."_

_Logan watched as she walked away before getting a smoothie and walking back over to his friends, who were looking at him with looks that held a mixture of amusement and curiosity._

_"What?" Logan questioned as he sat down on an empty beach chair._

_"So, who was that?" Kendall asked after a second of silence, a smug expression on his face. Logan looked over at him before replying._

_"I don't know, I didn't get her name," he replied._

"Yeah," Noah sucked in a breath as he narrowed his eyes, looking a little sheepish. "You should have heard our side of the conversation when we first heard about you guys."

"Was it that bad?" James asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Well," The Jacksons held out the word for about six syllables as they rubbed their necks, looking like they didn't want to answer the question at all.

_"Big Time Rush? What kind of a name is that?"_

_"What happened to the old' 'Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover' lesson you taught me, Riley?"_

_"I lied," 'Riley' replied with a smirk and tossed the magazine that she was reading aside. She and her band mates, who are also her brothers and sister, were sitting in the lobby of the Rolling Records building, waiting for their music producer/talent agent to get there. Rhuben, her twin, gave her a look as _

_"Do you really think that Big Time Rush isn't much competition?" Noah asked in his soft tone. "It says that they have really great singing voices and that they could be the next Nsync and Backstreet Boys."_

_"That really depends on how the fans perceive them and how much promotion they get." Sydney replied smartly. Rhuben ignored him as she let out an overly dramatic sigh of annoyance._

_"When is Ronan supposed to get here?" Rhuben questioned as she looked at her watch. "We've been waiting for a long time."_

_"A half an hour, I would guess," Patrick replied with a sigh. He stood up and stretched. "We've been waiting long enough." He commented and thought for a second before smiling at an idea. "Let's go sightseeing."_

_"But what about Ronan?" Noah questioned. Patrick rolled his eyes and waved a hand in the air impatiently. "Sorry, but I think it would be kind of rude if we ditched now."_

_"For all we know, he could be in a meeting," Patrick replied and then addressed the rest of his siblings. "C'mon, I'm bored, let's go do something fun." He looked over at Riley and stared when he saw a sly smile starting to form on her face. "You have that 'I-have-a-really-good-but-really-stupid-idea' look in your eye."_

_"What is it this time?" Rhuben asked as she turned her head to look at her twin._

_Riley raised her eyebrows as she rubbed her hands together before leaning towards her siblings and talking a hushed tone. "Want to go check out our competition?"_

"That explains it," WayneWayne rolled his eyes and shook his head in amusement. "You guys were so devious even before we met you guys."

"You're kidding right?" Katie snorted. "I don't think the term devious and Jacksons can never _not_ be together in the same sentence. I mean, even after that dad stole one of Big Time Rush's songs, they had a plan."

"Half of the plans that we had ever come up with were Hockey-Heads's you can't blame me for all of them." Riley replied defensively, she taped her chin. "Like that one that we did to get back at Bitters the _first_ time."

"Oh yeah," Kendall smiled fondly. "What a classic."

_"Are you sure that we're not going to get in trouble for this?" Logan asked as he held onto the leash that was attached to a pig._

_Riley was kneeling by its side, painting the number '4' on it. Around them, James and Carlos were holding onto a pig that was labeled number '1' and Patrick and Noah were holding onto a pig labeled number '2'. Rhuben and Sydney were in the lobby, watching Bitters. The joke was that they were going to set it free in the Palm Woods and watch as Bitters went looking for the non-existent pig marked number '3'. Riley had heard about the prank and Kendall had seen it online once. It was just a stroke of luck that the two of them had the same idea at the same time. The only way that they had gotten the pig was they had recruited Katie into smooth-talking a farmer into letting her borrow them. Somehow all of her watching of Fox helped her make it possible._

_And it only cost Kendall ten bucks for her to do it._

_"Trust me, we're not." Riley stated as she finished up. "Besides, if we __do__ get in trouble, I'll take the blame, it was my idea."_

_"It was __our__ idea," Kendall pointed out. "So we'll both take the blame." He patted Logan on the arm. "Logie, you worry too much." He grinned. "Ok, release the pigs!"_

_James, Carlos, Patrick, Noah, and Logan let go of the pigs and they watched as they all went charging into the lobby. Stacking on top of each other, Riley, Kendall, James, Carlos, Patrick, Noah, and Logan peered around the corner to the lobby to see what was going on._

_"OH MY GOD!" Sydney shouted, louder than he needed to. "WHAT ARE PIGS DOING IN THE PALM WOODS LOBBY?"_

_"I DON'T KNOW," Rhuben replied. "BUT THEY'RE DESTROYING EVERYTHING!" the two backed up as a pig walked by, knocking over the row of white boards. At the crashing sound, Bitters ran out of his office. He, like the others that were in the lobby, screamed when they saw the pigs._

_"Pigs! In the Palm Woods?" he screeched. "Help me!" he shouted to random people. "Help me get them out f here!" He tried diving onto a pig, but missed and crashed the ground. Big Time Rush and the DarkElements burst out laughing before going back up to the guys' apartment._

_"We're good." Kendall and Riley declared as they high-fived._

"That was almost as bad as the plan of what to do when _Carlos_," Camille stressed his name so he knew that she was blaming him for everything that had happened in her next statement. "Got us locked in the mall because he was being so selfish on his birthday."

"It was my _birthday_," Carlos pointed out as if that explained everything. "What other day do you deserve the right to be selfish?" His hands were thrown in the air and his eyes were wide, as if he was expecting everyone to understand what he was trying to say. (And in a way it made sense.)

"He's got a point." WayneWayne pointed out and then made a grunting sound when Camille elbowed her boyfriend in the side. "Ouch." He rubbed his ribs and then cleared his throat. "So, anyway, how did you manage to do that?" he looked thoughtful. "Although with you lot I shouldn't be surprised." He added as an afterthought. He laughed when he saw the bemused expression on Carlos' face and the annoyed ones on everyone else's.

_"Carlos, could you __please__ hurry up and choose whatever candy you want to eat so we can get going?" Logan asked through clenched teeth, barely able to hold onto his annoyance._

_"__Hey__!__" Carlos turned around and fake-glared at his friend. "Whose birthday is it today?"_

_"It's yours, Carlos." Jo replied as she rolled her eyes also annoyed. _

_"That's right, it's __my__ birthday," Carlos went back to pressing his nose against the glass bin that held the gummy bears. "And on __my__ birthday, I'm going to try and decide what kind of candy I want to buy to pig out on before we go back to my birthday party."_

_"How did he find out about that?" Riley stage-whispered to Kendall, watching her friend in amusement._

_"It's Carlos," Kendall muttered back in reply. "Anything that he ever finds out is because he pesters someone into telling him or because he snoops around." He shrugged. "Then again, it's not that much of a surprise for us anymore." He added._

_"Good point."_

_"Carlos, just pick the stupid candy so we can get out of here!" James snapped, slapping a hand onto his friend's shoulder._

_"Just because of that, I'm going to take even longer." Carlos sing-songed before moving to another part of the store._

_"The mall's going to close soon," Camille whispered to herself as she looked at her watch. "He better hurry up." Sydney, who was standing nearby her, gave Noah his bag of candy to hold and turned the bag that was on his back around to his front and quickly pulled out his laptop._

_"Do you always carry that around with you?" Stephanie asked as she looked over at him._

_"Yeah, he does," Noah replied with a slight eye roll. "In his words, you don't know when you're going to need technology, so he always brings it along."_

_"Carlos, this is getting on my last nerve," Stephanie spoke up as she turned to her almost-boyfriend. "Now just pick some damn candy so we can go home and drown your with presents and cake!"_

_"Can't we just drown him?" Rhuben asked as he shrugged her shoulders. "I doubt anyone's going to miss him __that__ much."_

_"Carlos," Stephanie placed a hand on the boys' shoulder and batted her eyelashes. "Please? Can we go?" Carlos smiled goofily as he grabbed onto a plastic bin, as if he was trying to hold himself up. Katie raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything._

_"Ok, just, let me get this rung up." Carlos replied and started to fill a bag with Orange Slices._

_"Actually, I think the registers are closed." Katie commented as she looked around. It was then that she noticed there was no one else in the mall and that they were literally the last ones there. "Uh, guys, I think we should hurry. I think the mall is about to-"_

_Before she could finish, the lights suddenly shut off, causing everybody to hear the sound of power generators shutting down. Sydney sighed as he closed his laptop. "That's what I was getting ready to say." He stated._

"So what were we around for?" Jo asked, pretending to be offended as she motioned to herself, Stephanie, and Camille. "It seemed to me that you only needed us whenever we were going shopping or something." She commented. She smiled when James kissed her cheek reassuringly.

"Pretty much," Rhuben replied with a teasing smile. "That and the fact that you guys were the ones that always planned each and every party that we had." She raised an eyebrow pointedly. "Like that housewarming party. You didn't even ask for our permission before you started calling people."

_"I get what you mean." Camille agreed, causing the other girls to nod in agreement. "Are you guys done? Because we need to go shopping."_

_"Shopping for what exactly?" Riley asked as she raised an eyebrow. "I thought that we were just looking around._

_"Dresses," Jo replied and then started to bat her eyelashes in an endearing way. "We were…__hoping__ that with you in your new house and what with the unpacking being almost done that-"_

_"That we would have a party?" Rhuben guessed and Jo nodded, showing that she was right. "Why not?" she shrugged. "I mean, you're supposed to have a house warming party right? And we haven't hung around our friends in a while."_

_"Let me just ask to see if the unpacking is done." Riley replied as she pulled her iPhone out of her pocket._

"That and to grill us about who we like," Riley added as she made a face, remembering how long it had taken for Jo, Camille, and Stephanie to get her to admit that she liked Kendall and that Rhuben liked Logan.

_"You really missed Australia didn't you?" Jo asked sympathetically. "I can tell from the way that you guys are really using your accent._

_"Its home," Rhuben shrugged in reply. "But we always have to leave home every now and then. And LA is our second home with you guys."_

_"And Logan." Stephanie added with a sly smile._

_"Yeah, that's an added bonus" Rhuben replied slowly as if she wasn't sure what her friend was getting at. Stephanie, Jo, and Camille looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "What?" she threw her arms up into the air. "Don't tell me you're like Riley and are convinced that we like each other."_

_"Because you do," Riley interjected before making a sound of protest as Rhuben grabbed some of her fries. "Eat your own!" she snapped._

_"I told you before," Rhuben sighed as she held her hands up defensively. "We're just friends." She insisted, sounding as if she had heard it before._

_"Someone who is 'just a friend' doesn't always greet you with 'Hey Bells, how are you doing today? How was your weekend" Jo replied as she used quotes around the words that Logan would say. She shook her head, sending her blonde tresses flying. "No, that's what a guy does when he likes you. When he doesn't like you he just goes 'Hey. What's up?'?" She lowered her voice to sound like a guy._

_"So? He does that to Riley too," Rhuben protested as she raised an eyebrow._

_"Yeah, but he doesn't look at me the same way he looks at you." Riley replied as she leaned back in her chair. Rhuben rolled her eyes before a sly smile slid onto her face and she turned to face her sister. "What?" she asked suspiciously._

_"What about you and Kendall?" she asked._

_"What __about__ me and Kendall?" Riley replied, looking genuinely confused. This time it was Rhuben's turn to roll her eyes along with Jo, Camille, and Stephanie._

_"It's only obvious that you like him," Camille replied as she slowly shook her head. "Even if you don't see it yourself. I mean, why do you always call him 'Hockey-Head' all the time? It can't be because you think his head is shaped like a hockey puck."_

_"Right, girls only give guys nicknames if they want to be close to them." Stephanie added with a grin._

_"Oh yeah," Riley turned the tables around. "What about you and Carlos?" she demanded. "I know that when we left for Minnesota he said that you two were supposed to go on a date, did you ever go?"_

_"Not yet," Stephanie replied with a sigh. "I don't know think he realizes that he hasn't actually asked me on a date, but just suggested it. And I don't want to be the one to ask if it actually was a date you know?"_

_"Why do guys have to be so stupid?" Jo asked as she placed her chin in her hand. "I mean, how hard is it to figure out what we really want? They're so confusing."_

"Hey, we're _not_ confusing." Patrick declared as he shifted on the couch and plopped his legs in Noah's and Katie's laps, ignoring the disgusted look on Noah's face when he got a whiff of his feet. "We just like to keep you girls on your toes."

"Yeah right," Katie stated as she rolled her eyes. "Guys are the ones that don't tell you whether or not they like and don't even notice when you like them." Her explanation caused Riley, Jo, Rhuben, Camille, and Stephanie to nod in agreement.

"At least we're not the ones that can't make up their minds," James replied and looked haughty. "I mean, we don't say one thing and mean something else, we just say what's on our minds."

"Which is usually nothing," Stephanie pointed out.

"Hey, can we _please_ not get into an argument about which sex is better?" Sydney asked, getting everyone's attention. "I'm sure that we could talk about that for hours and we all know that the girls will win by shooting the fact that they give birth to children and we don't." he paused. "Which is disgusting I must add." He added, causing everyone to laugh. He threw his arms out to stretch and his hands accidentally knocked into an acoustic guitar that was propped against the couch, knocking it to the floor. "Oops."

"I forgot I put that there." Riley commented as she picked it up and put it in her lap, inspecting it, just in case there were any cracks. She strummed a few strings, made a face, tuned it, and strummed it again. "It's not broken, Syd."

"I'm surprised," Rhuben commented dryly. "Seeing how you leave it around everywhere and we're always tripping over it." Riley stuck her tongue out at her and Rhuben did the same and then smiled cheekily. "Love you too."

"Ooh, Ri-Ri, play _That's Entertainment_" Sydney cried, eyes growing wide. "They haven't heard us play anything acoustically yet and I _love_ that song."

"Sure," Riley replied after barely a second of thought as she strummed each string to make sure it was tuned correctly. "I just hope that I remember the words this time." She added with a half smile and then looked at her brothers and sister. "But you guys have to sing along."

"When would we not?" Patrick asked, looking offended. Riley shook her head and started to play the song. He waited for the correct amount of beats before starting to sing. "A police car and a screaming siren, a pneumatic drill and ripped up concrete," he smiled and ran his fingers through his hair and continued. "A baby waiting and stray dog howling, the screech of brakes, and a lamplight blinking. That's entertainment. That's entertainment." He lowered his voice at the end of the song and nodded over towards Rhuben, whose turn it was next.

"A smash of glass and the rumble of boots, an electric train and a ripped up 'phone booth," he sang in a voice that was a mixture of singing quietly and singing loudly, complete with his accent. "Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat, lights going out and a kick in the balls, ouch." She made a face and laughed a little as she sang. "That's entertainment."

"That's entertainment." His brothers and sisters joined in, their voices overlapping easily. "Ah ah ah. Ah ah ah."

"Days of speed and slow time Mondays, pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday." Sydney sang as he swayed back and forth with the beat of the song. "Watching the news and not eating your tea. A freezing cold flat and damp on the walls," he smiled and rubbed his nose. "That's entertainment."

"That's entertainment." Rhuben and Noah smiled at each other, trying not to laugh at the look on each other's faces as they did so while still singing. "Ah ah ah. Ah ah ah."

"Waking up at 6 a.m. on a cool warm morning, opening the windows and breathing in petrol," Patrick took up singing again, earning a look from Riley, which Patrick returned. Rile must have understood what he meant as she nodded and continued playing the guitar, her fingers easily sliding over the frets. "An amateur band rehearses in a nearby yard, watching the telly and thinking about your holidays.

"That's entertainment. That's entertainment. Ah ah ah. Ah ah ah. Ah ah ah. Ah ah ah."

"Waking up from bad dreams and smelling your cigarettes," Noah sang and then a pained expression fell onto his face. "Waking from a bad dream and smelling stale perfume." He laughed a little and kept going. "Waking up from a bad dream and smelling your cigarettes, waking from a bad dream and smelling stale perfume."

"That's entertainment, that's entertain-"The Jacksons stopped and burst out laughing as Noah held his read face in his hands.

"Dude," Riley cried as she stopped playing. "You messed up again!"

"Not _again!_" Sydney shouted back as he pointed at her. "You were the one that messed up last time." He turned back to his friends, who were laughing too. "She completely forgot her verse and started to make one up completely."

"Yeah, at least I got part of it right." Noah added boastingly.

"Just pick it up from Noah's verse." Patrick stated as he finally stopped laughing.

"Yeah, Rhuben nodded over at her sister, who was still laughing, tears coming to her eyes. "Keep going." Riley nodded, took a second, and stared to play the song again. Noah waited and took a deep breath and started to sing again.

"Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes, "Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume,  
A hot summers' day and sticky black tarmac," Noah smiled as Riley did a quick strum of the strings and muted it, right on time. "Feeding ducks in the park and

"Wishing you were faraway," his brothers and sisters broke into the line and started to sing with him. "That's entertainment. That's entertainment. Ah ah ah. Ah ah ah."

"Yeah, I would get this line," Riley chuckled as she shook her head and then started singing when it got to the right part. "Two lovers kissing amongst the scream of midnight, Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude," she bopped her head back and forth as she sang. "Getting a cab and travelling on buses,  
Reading the graffiti about slashed seat affairs. That's entertainment."

"That's entertainment. Ah ah ah. Ah ah ah. Ah ah ah." Riley started to strum slower, signaling the end of the song. "That's entertainment, That's entertainment."

"And that's how you screw up, a jam song." Noah and Rhuben sang at the end, causing everyone to burst out laughing all over again as they clapped and cheered.

"Aw, I'm going to miss you guys." Jo stated as she moved over towards Riley and Rhuben and gathered them into hugs against their wishes. "It's not fair that I actually have to work while you get to have all the fun."

"Who says what we do isn't work?" Logan scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "We're the ones that have to listen to Gustavo scream at us all day."

"Good point." Stephanie commented. "But hey, we'll make it though this guys." She smiled. "We always do."

"We've only known each other for almost a year," Patrick pointed out. "We don't have many memories yet."

"Yes, but twenty years down the road, we'll have moments that we can look back upon and laugh." Carlos commented. "Like, remember when we were sixteen and these five kids always got us in trouble."

"Haha" Rhuben rolled her eyes and tossed a pillow at him, to which he caught against his chest and threw back at her.

"Listen guys," Kendall got everyone's attention again. "No matter where we are…all of us are going to be friends and we're always going to be supportive of each other." He smiled and held out a hand. "Right?"

"Right" the others agreed and put their hands on top of his, but they didn't move.

"So I guess this isn't a go team go kind of moment, right?" Kendall asked.

"Hockey-Head, you're such a loser." Riley commented as she rolled her eyes. Kendall smiled over at her.

"But I'm _your_ loser."

"Don't get mushy on us guys." WayneWayne joked.

"Yes, Kendall, this is a perfect go team go kind of thing." Stephanie laughed and brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Just to make you happy."

"Ok, on three." Kendall smile. "One…two…three!"

"Go, Team, Go!"

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**A/N: I hope you guys liked the flashback chapter of all of the funny moments from these two stories. I know it's a cop-out of writing a chapter, but almost every show has a flashback episode, so here's my equivalent of it. They're about to go on tour, get pumped. I know I am. Hahaha. I'll update soon. Next story has WayneWayne, Brittany, Gustavo, Kelly, Ronan, and Mrs. Knight are more main characters, it may be hard to get everyone in there, but I'm going to do my best. The ending was kind of cheesy, but I like cheesy, so I hope you guys liked it too.**

**The song that the Jacksons are singing is 'That's Entertainment' by Busted, so I recommend you listen to that. And I forgot to mention in the author's note in the last chapter that there will be a lot of Natie in the next story too.**

**Have you guys heard the song Boyfried by BTR yet? IT'S AMAZING! YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO IT!  
**

**-Riley**


	30. Big Time Beginnings

**.:Chapter Thirty – Big Time Beginnings:.**

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**"Please?" Riley asked as she tilted her head to the side and looked at Ronan with big, wide, eyes. Ronan just looked back at her with a raised eyebrow before turning to face his laptop again.

"No" he replied simply and Riley made a face before backing up and pushing Rhuben forward.

"Please?" she questioned as she stuck out her lower lip.

"No." Ronan looked amused and Patrick and Noah moved up next to try their turn. Ronan raised an eyebrow as the two of them looked at each other, gave a slight nod, and then dropped to their knees dramatically.

"PLEASE?" They cried in unison, holding onto Ronan's legs tightly as they threw themselves to the ground. "Please, Ronan? Puh-lease?"

"No" Ronan looked like he was trying not to laugh at their antics. Patrick frowned as he let of Ronan's legs and rolled onto his back to look up at his sisters. Ronan's smile grew wider as he looked at the defeated look on his twin sons' faces.

"How could that have not worked?" Patrick asked, looking appalled as Noah sat up and shook his head back and forth, making sure his long hair fell into his face just so. "I mean, I thought I was a good actor, usually that gets people."

"Yeah, and blows out their eardrums by how loud you are," Rhuben added and grabbed their hands and pulled them to their feet in one swift pull. She smirked as she turned back to her father. "Well, we all know that _no one _can resist Sydney's puppy dog pout." She turned to her baby brother, who was watching, and motioned him over. "Do you thing Syd."

"Nah, I'm good." Sydney replied and leaned back in his chair, causing his brothers and sisters to look at each other in shock. Sydney was never one to back down from a chance for him to use his 'gift' on people to get them to do whatever he wanted. "What?" he questioned when they looked at him, eyes wide.

"Usually you're the one that's jumping up and down, wanting to make sure that things go your way just by widening your eyes." Noah pointed out as he brushed his hair out of his face. "What happened?"

Sydney shrugged. "I just figured that after a while our actions will serve counterproductive and that it will eventually result in a less than desired effect." He replied calmly as he went back to typing something on his laptop.

"In English, please?" Patrick replied as she raised an eyebrow.

Sydney had a pained expression on his face before he looked up again and stared pointedly at Patrick. "If you keep bugging him, he'll say no." he replied slowly, each word accompanied with a nod. Patrick made a face back.

"Oh," he scratched the back of his neck. "Then why didn't you just say so?" Sydney looked like he really wanted to say something, but closed his mouth, shook his head, and went back to doing whatever it was he was doing. "Please, Ronan?"

"No!" Ronan closed his own laptop and turned in his chair to face his kids. "I'm _not_ going to call Jo's, Camille's, Stephanie's, or WayneWayne's parents to ask them if they minded that their kids came on tour with you guys for three, maybe four, months." He crossed his arms over his chest. "That's not fair to them or their family."

"It's not fair to us either," Rhuben pointed out and threw her hands into the air as she rolled her eyes, looking more emotional than Ronan had ever seen her. "I mean, we finally get our lives back on track and we make the best friends that we have _ever_ had, and _now_ we have to leave for four months without them!" she waved her arms around her head as she ranted.

"You did perfectly fine when you left before." Ronan pointed out.

Riley placed her hands on her hips and looked at her dad as if he was stupid. "That was before our dad went to jail and we were actually happy."

"Good point." Ronan replied and calmly pushed himself back and forth with his feet. "And I think you guys are getting a little _too _freaked out about this." He turned and looked at his daughters. "You two are upset because this is the first time that you actually have girlfriends and you don't want to leave them behind." The two nodded and turned to Patrick. "You're upset because I'm guessing that you think that at least one of them is hot and you want to be able to stare at her the whole time you're on tour," Patrick scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, sputtering as he tried to deny the statement. Ronan then turned to Noah. "And you really aren't thinking of your friends, you're just covering up the fact that you're afraid you have to leave your girlfriend behind."

"Girlfriend?" Noah repeated s he raised an eyebrow as he started to blush. "I wouldn't say that she's my…I mean, I haven't even asked her…I don't even…" he looked out of the corner of his eye and saw his brothers and sisters staring at him. "Shut up!"

"I'm just teasing you, Noah." Ronan replied as he reached out and mussed his hair. "Ok, I can't take this anymore," he stood up and paced the room as his kids watched him, following with his eyes. "The only reason that I kept telling you 'no' all this time is because I already called and asked."

"You what?" Riley and Rhuben harmonized, looking suspicious.

"I already called and asked," Ronan replied and stopped as he smiled at them. "They can go, they're already packed and everything." He grinned as they started to freak out and jump up and down in excitement.

"Has we ever told you that you're the best dad ever?" Patrick asked once he finally calmed down enough, even though he was still bouncing on his toes.

"No," Ronan replied after a second of thought. "I don't think you have."

"Oh," Patrick shrugged. "Well, remind us to do that later." He smiled as Ronan looked annoyed. "This is going to be the _best_ tour _ever_" he sang as he danced across the room. "Seriously," he paused and looked over at his brothers and sisters. "I don't think that life could get any better."

**(The End) To Be Continued…**

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A/N: Ok, it's the end of this story, I'm so glad that you guys enjoyed it so much, and I decided to make the ending only about the Jacksons so I can show that they truly are happy now. All of the reviews and positive feedback made me so happy. The sequel is up now too, it's called With Friends Like These III: Here and Now and I'm sure that you guys will like it as much as the first two stories. It's going to focus more on Big Time Rush than the DarkElements. **

**Be on the looked out because after I publish WFLT Here and Now I'm going to update 'Two is better than one' and 'Live and Let Live' because those are the stories that everyone wants to see updated. I hope you guys really enjoyed this. Thanks for reading, enjoy the next one, and god bless! :)**

**-Riley**


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